[grey-area]

IOS will replace Mac OS, the writing has been on the wall for a while now, iOS is where the money comes in and where most usage is, and maintaining dual development apis is painful and costly.

Apple doesn’t need to rush this process, but it is inevitable IMO, and is foreshadowed by actions like allowing iOS apps to run on macOS, moving Mac OS closer in UI to mobile, adding essentials like file handling to the mobile os.

At this point the underlying OS is the same, the UIs are converging, the UI frameworks for iOS are almost capable of replacing Mac OS, and it would be relatively easy to merge them in the next few years, keeping some extra layers of UI for macs but merging most of it and certainly the dev frameworks. We may see touchscreen macs or dockable iOS devices first though.

[jbluepolarbear]

I think you have it backwards. MacOS is going to replace iOS. Docking is a good reason for that. With the advancements in Apples silicon, we’re seeing more and more features from iOS added to MacOS, but not the other way round.

I would love a dockable iPhone, I’d pay a big premium for an M line iPhone that has the full MacOS in dock mode.

[grey-area]

The money and power within Apple have all gone to iOS over the last ten years, and developer interest is now overwhelmingly in iOS. That alone will dictate the direction of travel.

[jbluepolarbear]

iPhones are apples leading revenue maker, but it’s closely followed by their services. Absorbing iOS into MacOS makes the most sense, they can sell devices that are iOSish only and then sell the premium dockable iPhones with MacOS. It also will help developers focus on a unified platform without alienating them with an entirely new tool suite.

[matthewfcarlson]

I think that’s the best argument. To point for many people is the services are so good. You text someone on your phone and it shows up on your desktop. Even though macOS doesn’t make as much money it makes iOS more valuable

[grey-area]

Most developers develop for iOS nowadays, not MacOS. MacOS is increasingly an afterthought serviced by electron wrapper apps. I think it's much more likely they'll replace the Mac OS SDKs with the newer iOS equivalents.

You can now write an iOS app which runs on the desktop, and I suspect that's the direction Apple will promote - write once for iOS and it'll run anywhere, including Mac OS.

They'll obviously keep the brand Mac OS, as they do for iPad OS, but it would become the same OS as iOS once the SDKs are the same, the underlying OS is the same already (Darwin), and many frameworks are shared.

[spiderice]

Agreed, it's hard for me to imagine any realistic price that Apple could put on that product that I wouldn't pay.

[np_tedious]

Hmm. Seems likely in a way, but I don't see how to square this with the professional crowd like software devs

[rewgs]

The appearance of a trend does not guarantee the continuation of that trend to its logical extreme.

I'd argue that they're just doing the obvious: refining and maturing iPadOS, and unifying the vibe of all their products. This makes sense. Just as one band influencing another doesn't mean that the two bands will eventually converge into an amorphous blob, two products by the same company influencing one another doesn't mean that the two will become a single product.

I'd just take Apple's word for it that they've maintained all along: they're letting the device do its thing as best it can. If iOS were swallowing everything, then why did iPadOS split out into its own thing? People don't give enough credence to the fact that these platforms are splitting just as much as they're merging.

Also, even if all devices were going the way of "dumbed-down iOS," someone still needs to develop for it, and you best believe that Apple won't loosen their grip on that segment. Just as Mac Pros are loss leaders just to keep the creative class, macOS devices in general will stick around, hell or high water, just to retain the developer class.

I for one welcome the iPadOS-ification of macOS, the macOS-ification of iPadOS, and so on. They're just allowing the products to slowly evolve and (ideally) be the best version of what their interface dictates, just as they've always done and always said they're doing.

[grey-area]

They run the same underlying OS, in many ways it doesn't matter which replaces the other, the UI chrome and API are the main differences, and something like xcode could be run on iOS without huge modifications.

I do think at some point they'll merge them though - maintaining two APIs which are distinct but incredibly similar is a waste of effort and confusing for developers.