iOS applications in macOS are still the same as in iPhone and iPad. Each program is installed and run on its own one-acre three-quarter land, and the folders of each program cannot access each other, that is, run in a sandbox.
Access to the resources in the system depends on various built-in applications: select photos in the app through the "Photos" application; use the "Finder" to read and write files in the computer-this also provides the iOS application with file access in macOS Capability mechanism; use the system default browser to respond to the operation of opening the website in the application, etc.
At the same time, the permission control of the iOS application is exactly the same as that of the mobile terminal, and the use of the camera, positioning, etc. is the same as that of iOS. iOS applications can also use the iCloud space normally, and can share files with the mobile phone.
During the use process, I found that the iOS application can still detect whether other specified iOS applications are installed on the machine in macOS . For example, in Word, you can see whether the machine has other Office suites installed.
The jump between apps is also completely normal . When I use WeChat to read, I can directly call up the iPad version of WeChat to log in, and the wake-up speed is very fast.
The system will still recognize the SMS verification code and prompt when entering the content .
Except for the SMS verification code, similar scenarios using the key chain are all valid on macOS, but the normal keyboard input will be affected after the prompt box is popped out. Sometimes the prompt is not what we expected. At this time, press "Esc "Key can close the prompt and input through the keyboard.
What can iOS apps be used for?
Let the free version on iOS satisfy the basic application
Office stipulates that the use of the Office suite on devices larger than 10.1 inches is considered professional use and requires a fee, but running Office on a Mac with an M1 chip did not find this limitation.
It may be because it is not on the shelves and there are no restrictions on the current hardware. Office applications only need to log in to the Microsoft account to use the free functions normally.
When using "Word", you can open, save, and edit text normally, but the "Delete" key is recognized as deleting the text after the cursor, which cannot be processed in accordance with the correct logic of the macOS keyboard.
On the contrary, the performance of "Excel" is perfect. Both the display and the operation of inputting text are comfortable, and the data filtering and reviewing are also consistent with the iPad experience.
The experience of using "PowerPoint" is also perfect. Editing and playing slides are stress-free. It is a good choice for users who use slides lightly. However, if you want to play the slideshow in full screen, you also need to make the application window full screen.
The iPad version of "Lightroom" can use some of the basic functions to process photos, and for light users, it can replace the paid "Lightroom" on the Mac.
Rely on simplicity and stability to replace the original Mac application
The biggest feeling of "WeChat" translated using Rosetta 2 is all kinds of crashes, with an average of three to five crashes a day.
Switching to the iOS version of "WeChat" will save you much worry. It's easy to play mini programs and watch Moments. It smells so good! Play WeChat Moments on MacBook with M1 chip
I also tried "shake it", no matter it was shaking the window or the computer, it couldn't be used.
Use iOS apps not available on the Mac
Weibo, Zhihu and other applications that were not originally available on macOS can now also be used on macOS.
And some useful apps that only exist on the iOS side can now naturally be used on the Mac. Readers who are accustomed to the "Alook" browser can install the Alook browser, which looks like a desktop browser on the Mac, just by switching to request the desktop version of the website.
Using Alook, you can still use all the functions of Alook to block ads, video speed and so on.
Another application tested is "MarginNote 3", which also works well on Mac. However, full functionality still requires a subscription.
As shown in the above figure, although "MarginNote 3" is not available on the macOS App Store, this application cannot be easily downloaded, but after installation, you can still subscribe normally and conveniently. After clicking "Unlock Full Version", if you accidentally touch the power button with your fingerprint, you can successfully deduct the fee.
Move everyday apps to Mac
Another advantage of using iOS apps is that it weakens the use of mobile phones. Most everyday apps in daily life can be used perfectly on the Mac, such as ordering a takeaway, brushing Douyin for a while, and opening Didi to take a taxi after get off work. Many life and entertainment operations that originally needed to be performed on a mobile phone can now be performed on a computer after work.
It is worth mentioning that the screen time setting is still valid, and the usage time of the app is shared with the mobile terminal . For example, I set to only use 3 minutes of vibrato every day. Regardless of which end, the accumulated time will be prompted.
What's interesting is that restricted applications are still running in the background. For example, Douyin is still playing videos in the background after reaching the time limit. Clicking the "OK" button will only minimize the window without exiting the application.
Many scenes in life can no longer be completed without picking up the phone. In this way, my phone usage time plummeted.
Rescue macOS's barren widgets
After the update of the Big Sur system, it becomes more like an iPad. Small components can be jumped out by flicking the right edge with two fingers. The style is exactly the same as that of iOS.
When using the iOS app, I accidentally discovered that the widgets provided by the app can be added and displayed normally on macOS.
Zhihu’s widgets allow me to take a look at the latest content from time to time even under Mac.
"Scriptable" can run most scripts correctly, so most of the widgets introduced in the previous APPSO article can be displayed correctly on macOS. With the help of "Scriptable", the number of widgets and customization capabilities available for macOS are even higher.
Open iOS games for leisure and entertainment
After opening the iOS application, click on the menu bar at the top of the desktop, and you can find that there is an additional "touch alternative" option.
After checking, a prompt will pop up to teach us how to use some touchpad gestures to simulate screen touch.
According to the introduction, we can know that this mode is mainly for games.
For ordinary casual games, you can easily control them with simple clicks or a small amount of drag and drop games.
For joystick games, you can use the touchpad to operate the joystick by turning on "Touch instead of" and holding down the "Option" key.
Because the notebook’s built-in touchpad is not so comfortable to use, in order to experience the freedom similar to the handle, I took out the dusty control board due to the arrival of the M1 chip Mac, and started a game of "Peace Elite" Training ground.
The feeling I experienced is that this operation is not as intuitive as on the touch screen, so it relies more on muscle memory, or relies on the marker to draw the position of the button on the touchpad.
There is also a small part of the game that has been adapted to the keyboard, which can be directly controlled by the keyboard keys
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After the test, I can’t help but sigh that the experience of this type of game on the Mac is almost the same as that of the original game. I don’t know if popular games such as "Peace Elite" will be compatible with similar operations.
As for why there is not the best game of the year "Original God" in 2020? Don't ask, ask is a flashback.
Many iOS head games are actively being launched on the App Store on macOS, so most of them need to be installed manually. I won't do too much interpretation here. I hope to see iPad games shine on macOS to make up for the lack of games and low entertainment in macOS.
Based on the experience during this period of time, it can be said that the iOS application landed on the Mac platform, which steadily expanded a wave of macOS system applications, especially the high-quality applications of the iPad platform, allowing us to seamlessly migrate the experience to the Mac platform. On the Internet, most of the daily contact applications have good performance. For applications that are not perfectly adapted, the application itself needs to be optimized for systems on different platforms.