 Apple's annual developer conference is next week, and if you've been watching my videos, you know that I have an unhealthy obsession with the future of computers. And that's why this year is such a big deal for me, because Apple's expected to do two things that just hit me right in the heart. The first is we're expecting them to fix multitasking on the iPad, and the second is we're expecting to put iPad apps on the Mac. And you know what? The second one is a bigger deal. And I'm going to explain why, because I have what might be an unpopular opinion. I think Apple shouldn't just double down on iPad apps on the Mac. I think Apple should go all in. It should make all of its consumer Mac apps in this new way. And I think I might be able to convince you. So, okay, let's just back up a minute. Last year, Apple announced a sneak peek at a multi-year project at WWDC. The idea was to take an app that was developed for iOS and let it work on the Mac. The codename for this project was Marzipan, and maybe you've heard of that. Which means that we're going to get iPad apps on the Mac. Now, does that mean that iOS and the Mac are merging? Well, Apple's Craig Federighi answered that exact question last year. No. Of course not. Okay, does it mean that every single iPad app is going to suddenly become available on the Mac? Well, here's my guess. No. Does it mean that Macs are finally going to get touchscreens? No. Does it mean that iPad apps are going to be like, I don't know, just dumped onto the Mac and feel like weird alien programs that aren't really Mac-like at all? Yeah, we don't know the answer to that yet. But right now, the answer actually is totally yes. The apps are bad. See, Apple started testing Marzipan last year by just trying out on a few of its own apps. So let's look at those apps and see how Mac-like they really are. Got my launcher, everyone has an Apple junk folder, and let's just start with news because it's like the most egregious example. First of all, it takes a second to load, but I want to open this in a tab. I can't. Maybe I want to open it in Safari for later. I could copy the link and paste it, I guess. Also, honestly, resizing here, this needs some work. This is not great reflowing, but whatever. Maybe we can give that a pass. So let's look at another app. How about the Home app? This app is hilarious. Like, first of all, this wants to be touched. It just does. Second of all, there's more stuff underneath here that you wouldn't know unless you resize the app. Like, this is just ridiculous. So they're bad, right? But if they're so bad, why on earth would I say that I think Apple should make more of them? What gives? Well, let me try to explain. First, I trust that Apple's gonna make it possible to make better Marzipan apps. I mean, they can't get much worse. And making better Marzipan apps might actually end up being easier than you think. So there's this Apple developer named Steve Troughton Smith, and he has been experimenting with iOS apps and a bunch of Marzipan code and tweeting his results. So let's take a look at some of the stuff he did. So first, we'll just start with Twitterific, and like, here it is. You don't see much, it's just the info app, but the point is he was able to make an iOS app for the Mac really, really easily. Here, we're looking at Overcast, and what's fascinating about this is he got a traditional Mac three-column layout, so it feels like a Mac app. Even though he didn't have access to the source code for the original app, he was just able to make this work. Here, of course, we just have a nice little weather app. Actually, I would love to have this weather app on my Mac. And then here, if you're concerned that apps that are developed for the ARM processor won't work on an x86 Intel processor, he's got a video showing compiling an app to Intel really, really easily. Steve built his own system called Marzipanify, and even though these are just experiments, they really do look like successful experiments. So I think we can assume, mostly, that Marzipan apps are going to be better than what we've already seen, but we don't know yet whether they're gonna be really, truly Mac-like in the way that people that care about Macs really want them to be. To all those people, I say, relax. I think it's gonna be fine. If Marzipan apps don't work exactly like the traditional Mac apps that you love, maybe it doesn't matter that much, as long as they just work well, or at least as long as they feel more Mac-like than Electron apps do. Wait, Electron apps, what's Electron? Okay, it's actually how a lot of the apps you're probably already using on the Mac work. They're basically little web browsers for a single app, like Slack or Gmail or whatever, and they also have a bunch of other code piled on top of it. They slow your computer down, but they're very easy to make and easy to update. I use Electron apps, and I think a lot of them are actually pretty great. I also use a lot of web apps, which basically takes a browser tab and makes it its own separate app. I mean, I would say that 80% of the time, I'm using my MacBook kind of just like it's a Chromebook, and I bet Apple hates that. So do you see where I'm going here? iOS apps could save the Mac from memory and processor hogging Electron apps, and it could get a bunch of people actually using apps and buying apps again. So with all of that said, here we go. I think Apple should make most of its consumer apps with Marzipan. It would force Apple to make the Marzipan apps better. I mean, heck, I will go further. I think Apple should seriously consider freezing development on some of its apps and move all of that effort into Marzipan versions. iTunes, photos, mail, messages, contacts, Safari. Wait, no, not Safari. Safari on the iPad kind of sucks. Leave Mac Safari alone. Anyway, I want Apple to force itself to be like, okay, the iPad version of Mail is the only version of Mail that Mac users inside Apple get to use, and if they don't like it, they have to fix it. And I think they should do the same for as many apps as they can stomach, because if they don't, everyone's just gonna use the regular Mac apps that they've had before. I mean, ask Microsoft how keeping the Windows Classic version of Office around when it tried to change apps over to Windows 8 and Windows 10 went. It didn't go well. Will this transition be painful for Apple? Yes, but I think it will be worth it. And maybe they could ease the pain by making those Marzipan versions available just as betas right now, and then make them the official versions like a year from now. But if Apple goes all in, they're gonna end up showing other developers the best way to make these Marzipan apps for themselves. It's gonna force Apple to make these apps really full-featured, and if they do that, you know what else? It'll make those same apps better for iPad users, and so the iPad could get closer to becoming a real, proper, primary computer for people. So come on, Apple, go for it. All it's gonna take is just a little courage. Hey, thank you so much for watching. That's what I'm hoping for at WWDC, but what are you hoping for at Apple's Developer Conference? Let me know in the comments, and then of course, keep it locked to The Verge because it's gonna be a huge conference and we're gonna cover it all next week.
 Apple's annual developer conference is next week,
 and if you've been watching my videos,
 you know that I have an unhealthy obsession
 with the future of computers.
 And that's why this year is such a big deal for me,
 because Apple's expected to do two things
 that just hit me right in the heart.
 The first is we're expecting them to fix multitasking
 on the iPad, and the second is we're expecting
 to put iPad apps on the Mac.
 And you know what?
 The second one is a bigger deal.
 And I'm going to explain why,
 because I have what might be an unpopular opinion.
 I think Apple shouldn't just double down
 on iPad apps on the Mac.
 I think Apple should go all in.
 It should make all of its consumer Mac apps
 in this new way.
 And I think I might be able to convince you.
 So, okay, let's just back up a minute.
 Last year, Apple announced a sneak peek
 at a multi-year project at WWDC.
 The idea was to take an app that was developed for iOS
 and let it work on the Mac.
 The codename for this project was Marzipan,
 and maybe you've heard of that.
 Which means that we're going to get iPad apps on the Mac.
 Now, does that mean that iOS and the Mac are merging?
 Well, Apple's Craig Federighi
 answered that exact question last year.
 No.
 Of course not.
 Okay, does it mean that every single iPad app
 is going to suddenly become available on the Mac?
 Well, here's my guess.
 No.
 Does it mean that Macs are finally going to get touchscreens?
 No.
 Does it mean that iPad apps are going to be like,
 I don't know, just dumped onto the Mac
 and feel like weird alien programs
 that aren't really Mac-like at all?
 Yeah, we don't know the answer to that yet.
 But right now, the answer actually is totally yes.
 The apps are bad.
 See, Apple started testing Marzipan last year
 by just trying out on a few of its own apps.
 So let's look at those apps
 and see how Mac-like they really are.
 Got my launcher, everyone has an Apple junk folder,
 and let's just start with news
 because it's like the most egregious example.
 First of all, it takes a second to load,
 but I want to open this in a tab.
 I can't.
 Maybe I want to open it in Safari for later.
 I could copy the link and paste it, I guess.
 Also, honestly, resizing here, this needs some work.
 This is not great reflowing, but whatever.
 Maybe we can give that a pass.
 So let's look at another app.
 How about the Home app?
 This app is hilarious.
 Like, first of all, this wants to be touched.
 It just does.
 Second of all, there's more stuff underneath here
 that you wouldn't know unless you resize the app.
 Like, this is just ridiculous.
 So they're bad, right?
 But if they're so bad, why on earth would I say
 that I think Apple should make more of them?
 What gives?
 Well, let me try to explain.
 First, I trust that Apple's gonna make it possible
 to make better Marzipan apps.
 I mean, they can't get much worse.
 And making better Marzipan apps
 might actually end up being easier than you think.
 So there's this Apple developer named Steve Troughton Smith,
 and he has been experimenting with iOS apps
 and a bunch of Marzipan code and tweeting his results.
 So let's take a look at some of the stuff he did.
 So first, we'll just start with Twitterific,
 and like, here it is.
 You don't see much, it's just the info app,
 but the point is he was able to make an iOS app
 for the Mac really, really easily.
 Here, we're looking at Overcast,
 and what's fascinating about this
 is he got a traditional Mac three-column layout,
 so it feels like a Mac app.
 Even though he didn't have access to the source code
 for the original app, he was just able to make this work.
 Here, of course, we just have a nice little weather app.
 Actually, I would love to have this weather app on my Mac.
 And then here, if you're concerned that apps
 that are developed for the ARM processor
 won't work on an x86 Intel processor,
 he's got a video showing compiling an app
 to Intel really, really easily.
 Steve built his own system called Marzipanify,
 and even though these are just experiments,
 they really do look like successful experiments.
 So I think we can assume, mostly,
 that Marzipan apps are going to be better
 than what we've already seen,
 but we don't know yet whether they're gonna be
 really, truly Mac-like in the way that people
 that care about Macs really want them to be.
 To all those people, I say, relax.
 I think it's gonna be fine.
 If Marzipan apps don't work exactly
 like the traditional Mac apps that you love,
 maybe it doesn't matter that much,
 as long as they just work well,
 or at least as long as they feel more Mac-like
 than Electron apps do.
 Wait, Electron apps, what's Electron?
 Okay, it's actually how a lot of the apps
 you're probably already using on the Mac work.
 They're basically little web browsers for a single app,
 like Slack or Gmail or whatever,
 and they also have a bunch of other code
 piled on top of it.
 They slow your computer down,
 but they're very easy to make and easy to update.
 I use Electron apps,
 and I think a lot of them are actually pretty great.
 I also use a lot of web apps,
 which basically takes a browser tab
 and makes it its own separate app.
 I mean, I would say that 80% of the time,
 I'm using my MacBook kind of just like it's a Chromebook,
 and I bet Apple hates that.
 So do you see where I'm going here?
 iOS apps could save the Mac
 from memory and processor hogging Electron apps,
 and it could get a bunch of people actually using apps
 and buying apps again.
 So with all of that said, here we go.
 I think Apple should make most of its consumer apps
 with Marzipan.
 It would force Apple to make the Marzipan apps better.
 I mean, heck, I will go further.
 I think Apple should seriously consider freezing development
 on some of its apps and move all of that effort
 into Marzipan versions.
 iTunes, photos, mail, messages, contacts, Safari.
 Wait, no, not Safari.
 Safari on the iPad kind of sucks.
 Leave Mac Safari alone.
 Anyway, I want Apple to force itself to be like,
 okay, the iPad version of Mail is the only version of Mail
 that Mac users inside Apple get to use,
 and if they don't like it, they have to fix it.
 And I think they should do the same
 for as many apps as they can stomach,
 because if they don't, everyone's just gonna use
 the regular Mac apps that they've had before.
 I mean, ask Microsoft how keeping
 the Windows Classic version of Office around
 when it tried to change apps over to Windows 8
 and Windows 10 went.
 It didn't go well.
 Will this transition be painful for Apple?
 Yes, but I think it will be worth it.
 And maybe they could ease the pain
 by making those Marzipan versions available
 just as betas right now,
 and then make them the official versions
 like a year from now.
 But if Apple goes all in,
 they're gonna end up showing other developers
 the best way to make these Marzipan apps for themselves.
 It's gonna force Apple to make these apps
 really full-featured, and if they do that,
 you know what else?
 It'll make those same apps better for iPad users,
 and so the iPad could get closer to becoming
 a real, proper, primary computer for people.
 So come on, Apple, go for it.
 All it's gonna take is just a little courage.
 Hey, thank you so much for watching.
 That's what I'm hoping for at WWDC,
 but what are you hoping for
 at Apple's Developer Conference?
 Let me know in the comments,
 and then of course, keep it locked to The Verge
 because it's gonna be a huge conference
 and we're gonna cover it all next week.