Because software developers need to be able to test iPadOS apps quickly and easily, they sometimes use emulator software to run iPad apps on their Macs. The new Macs may be coming soon, but that’s not the entire story. This might be a little confusing until most Intel-based Macs have been retired. Keep in mind that for quite some time to come, there will be both Intel chipset and Apple chipset Macs around, and only the ones with Apple chipsets will be able to run iPad apps. The exact timing is uncertain, but the first of these new Macs are expected before the end of 2020. With the newest Apple chipset Macs, you’ll be able to natively run iPad apps on your computer. You’ll be able to install iPad apps directly from the Mac’s app store. Starting late in 2020, Apple is expecting to release MacBooks and other Mac computers with similar high-performance ARM chips.īecause of the similar architecture, Apple has already announced that this will allow Apple computers to natively run iPad apps with no further changes or modifications. ARM chipsets are characterized as low-power processors commonly found in mobile devices like phones, tablets, and some laptops, optimized to deliver the best battery life. When it does this, the new Macs - which will share a similar architecture to iPadOS devices - will be able to run iPad apps.Īpple has made its own ARM-based chips for iOS and iPadOS devices for years.

You’ll be able to run iPad apps on some Macs soonĪt the beginning of 2020, Apple announced that it would soon start to produce Mac computers with its own Apple-designed chipsets, abandoning the Intel chips it has used for many years. But at this time, iPad apps are fundamentally incompatible with the architecture and operating system on a Mac computer. There is an exception - you can use an iPadOS emulator on your Mac. If you want to run apps from your iPad on a Mac, the traditional answer is that you can’t – at least not ordinarily. Visit Business Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.Older Intel-based Macs can’t run iPad apps without an emulator, which isn’t easy to use and has many limitations.The new Macs will run on new Apple-designed chips that are similar to the ARM chips in iPadOS devices, making them compatible.You can’t natively run iPad apps on a Mac computer without using an emulator, though that will change with a new generation of Macs, set to come out by the end of 2020.

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