Nick Lockwood
I'm coming to realize that Apple's strategy for merging macOS and iOS is not to gradually uplift iOS to the point where it becomes a worthy macOS replacement, but rather to gradually downgrade macOS to the point where it no longer offers any tangible benefits over iOS
Jun 11, 2025 at 7:57amopenvibe
Show threadIva HornJun 11, 2025

@nicklockwood How do you come to this conclusion? I have the opposite perception. iPad OS is becoming greater every year and I am getting tired of my previous all time favorite macOS which still has a shell and freedom to do all the hacky things. 🤔 Also, macOS got bloated with features over the years. Maybe Apple is calming down in that regard again.

I am genuinely curious about your opinion.

Show threadNick LockwoodJul 2, 2025

@i2h3 @nicklockwood I only just saw this reply, sorry. It's twofold really:

First, the sandbox and security features are making it increasingly hard to implement power features in macOS apps. The OS doesn't trust the user to choose what apps to run.

Second, the UI is increasingly being simplified: lower density interfaces, with features removed to allow for larger and simpler controls.

Show threadJaleel AkbashevJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood it’s pity, but guess a right direction considering how many people nowadays have iOS-first experience. Still, believe it should have been executed better.
Show threadRob Amos (Bok)Jun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood for a lot of people/use cases that threshold has already been passed
Show threadFrank ReiffJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood ever since “back to the Mac”.
Show threadMarcin KrzyzanowskiJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood I thought it's the other way around, but now I see they try to find some middle ground somewhere in between where nobody is happy
Show threadNick LockwoodJun 11, 2025
@krzyzanowskim @nicklockwood The latest iPad OS is for sure a lot closer to macOS UX, so maybe they will meet somewhere in the middle, but it will still be a downgrade from what macOS used to be
Show threadMarcin KrzyzanowskiJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood agree. and that is a trend. eventually Mac will lost sense as dev machine, and home use machine as well
Show threadKonrad KołakowskiJun 11, 2025

@krzyzanowskim @nicklockwood I still have hope that it would not, not unless stuff like this will be possible on the iPad:

https://mastodon.social/@kkolakowski/114664958192789331

Show threadMarcin KrzyzanowskiJun 11, 2025
@kkolakowski @nicklockwood tkat would be obviously shame and big loss because macbook is superior device to use over ipad for majority of tasks
Show threadSam DeaneJun 11, 2025

@nicklockwood I feel the same way, emotionally.

I think it’s more that, despite denials to the contrary, the inspiration for their UI lies in one specific platform (I would have said iOS in the past, now arguably it's visionOS), whilst at the same time they are trying to create a uniform design language across all platforms.

This is a contradiction that will likely never be resolved.

Show threadSam DeaneJun 11, 2025

@nicklockwood what macOS needs is a dedicated team who are only inspired and excited by, and only using, macOS.

Yet it makes engineering (and to some extent marketing) sense to pool the design effort across all the platforms.

Laptops are old hat, everyone working on them also has a phone, watch, iPad.

Meanwhile AR/VR goggles are sexy and exciting, and open up genuinely new challenges and opportunities.

🤷‍♂️

Show threadSam DeaneJun 11, 2025

@nicklockwood

I hope that eventually all our devices will form a smart mesh and the UI will settle into something that genuinely adapts to the strengths of each device, to the extent that half the time we won't even know or care which device is doing which function.

It's gonna take a while though…

Show threadRiccardo MoriJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood Are you spying on my notes for the article I’m writing? 😉
Show threadBuckJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood Exactly my concern as well. It feels like we are losing macOS year by year, change by change.
Show threadSpazcosoftJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood I’ve been lamenting daily that it’s no longer 2005 and it will never be 2005 again.
Show threadRadleyJun 11, 2025

@nicklockwood My theory is that there was a 20 year plan to merge the systems together (based on iOS release in 2007). If you use the Music app, it's been obvious that the downgrade has been going on for 5+ years now.

We should feel lucky that they haven't migrated Xcode to iPad yet. Once they do, it feels inevitable that Apple will begin retiring the Mac platform.

Show threadout of lineJun 11, 2025
@nicklockwood i was worried about this 10 years ago! luckily for me (us?) they've moved a lot slower than i initially expected