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Apple’s plan to support unified apps on iOS and macOS could be a game-changer.
Bloomberg reports that next year, Apple will set in motion a plan to support apps that work across iPhones, iPads, and macOS desktops and laptops, without the need for multiple versions.

The project, which is codnamed ‘Marzipan’, is expected to be announced at Apple’s next Worlwide Developer Conference (WWDC) in June 2018. However, plans for Marzipan are still fluid, so it isn’t exactly what the workflow for developers will be like just yet.

There are a number of reasons why this could make sense for Apple, its developer community, and its customers. For starters, it’ll be easier for developers to reach more users across devices, since they’ll only have to build a single app for both iOS and macOS. It’ll be interesting to see how this pans out, especially when it comes to delivering optimal performance on both platforms with a single code base.

That also means fewer versions to support and maintain over time, and a single price for its products for those platforms. Of course, they’ll need to experiment with pricing and subscription models in order for this to make sense in the long term, but there’s tremendous value in getting your users into your ecosystem on multiple devices, so the exercise will likely be worth the effort for most developers.