Jon Prosser: Xcode on iPad could pave the way for mobile 'Pro' apps

Jon Prosser says that Xcode is present on iOS/iPadOS 14, possibly paving the way for Pro applications on iPad.

In a tweet yesterday he said:

I'm not gonna say that Final Cut is coming to iPad...

But XCode is present on iOS / iPad OS 14.

The implications there are HUGE.

Opens the door for "Pro" applications to come to iPad.

I mentioned this last week on a live stream, but figured it was worth the tweet

The implications of this are two-fold. Firstly, Xcode on iOS/iPadOS would allow developers to code apps on mobile devices for the first time ever, where previously they were only able to do so through Mac. Secondly, as Prosser, mentions, it could pave the way for some of Apple's 'Pro' applications, like Final Cut and Mainstage to come to iPadOS.

As our man Rene Ritchie notes, this would present a couple of issues. The first is RAM. Apple's 'Pro' apps are very resource-intensive and require a minimum of 8GB of RAM found in Apple's Mac lineup to run properly at present. For intensive sessions of Logic Pro, Mainstage or Final Cut Pro, even more than 8GB of RAM is usually needed. The second is functionality, just because you can make a desktop app available on mobile, doesn't mean you should. Rene notes the example of Adobe Photoshop, which is currently figuring out "what makes sense in terms of functionality and interactivity on the iPad." Whilst Apple could feasibly overcome the hardware issue so that Final Cut could run on iPad, would it be the best touch screen experience? Certainly, Apple Pencil and iPadOS trackpad support would go a long way to alleviating some of this.

It seems the more immediate impact of this rumor would be for developers who would no longer be bound to Mac when it comes to developing, which could well be a welcome improvement.