macOS 11.1 brings Improvements to iOS apps on M1 Macs

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Joe Rossignol at MacRumors in an article macOS Big Sur 11.1 Enables Full-Screen iPhone and iPad Apps on M1 Macs

Another notable change mentioned in the update’s release notes is the ability for iPhone and iPad apps with non-resizable windows to enter full-screen mode on Macs with the M1 chip, which is particularly useful for video apps like HBO Max.

macOS 11.1 also allows iPhone and iPad app windows to be switched between landscape and portrait orientations.

Here’s another thing I learned: if you install an iOS app to your M1 Mac using iMazing (because it isn’t available in the Mac App Store), and that app is later updated, you will get the updated version in the Mac App Store.

I fear that Apple will close this loophole someday, but until then, I’m really enjoying it for things like eero which has never had a Mac app.

Update:

Ok, this is pretty cool.

Now that you can resize apps, all sorts of things become more useful.

  • YouTube’s app ¹
  • Fastmail’s app
  • Gmail’s app
  • Plex

And, using Bumpr I can even set iOS Email apps as emails apps in macOS!

¹ Note: I have YouTube Premium which allows me to use YouTube in the “background” which is pretty key on macOS because otherwise, I assume it will pause when you switch to another app.

Plex also supports PIP which means I now have a floating Plex window while I’m typing this. I’m pretty stoked. (Do people still say “stoked”?)

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Oh god, please no. That would stir a lot of controversy…

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As expected, 9to5Mac reports macOS beta code suggests Apple will block users from sideloading unsupported iOS apps on M1 Macs.

They found code in the macOS 11.2 beta 2 which says:

This application cannot be installed because the developer did not intend for it to run on this platform.

Currently (even in 11.2 beta 2) the code does not seem to be active, but it’s possible that Apple could “flip a switch” sometime after 11.2 comes out and kill sideloading.

The code found by 9to5Mac is related to the APIs that manage the DRM (Digital Rights Management) protections of the operating system. We can’t confirm if this lock is already working on macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta 2, but it may also be something that Apple will enable remotely once the update is available for users.

Enjoy it while it lasts.

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And there it goes:

Here’s the TL;DR:

9to5Mac has now confirmed that, starting today, this is no longer possible unless the application is available on the Mac App Store. Apple has flipped the necessary sever-side switch to block iPhone and iPad applications from being installed on Apple Silicon Macs.

The change applies to M1 Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.1 as well as the developer or public beta of macOS Big Sur 11.2. The only difference is that users running the macOS Big Sur 11.2 beta will see a more specific error message.

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