Here’s What’s Coming in The Next Version of macOS

macOS High Sierra on iMac

June’s WWDC is not far away, so it’s not too early to start talking about what Apple may have in store for the next version of macOS.

macOS High Sierra on iMac
macOS High Sierra. What’s next?

There are two recent articles that help get this kind of discussion going.

These two articles suggest that Apple is paving the way forward for a better technological positioning. We’ve seen this many times before. Apple tells developers about what they need to be cognizant of and provides warnings and deprecations. Then, at some time in the future, with the architectural pieces in place, a new foundation and capability springs forth. Will we see it coming? It’s always delightful when it does.

64-bit apps

iOS has led the way. 32-bit apps will not launch in iOS 11. Now Apple is starting the process of getting developers over to all 64-bit apps for macOS and has said that 32-bit macOS apps will no longer launch in the version of macOS to be released in 2019.

Once iOS and macOS are using the same set of (more secure) 64-bit APIs, something very cool can start to happen. Developers can build one basic version of their app, and it will detect where it’s running and behave accordingly. This will breathe new life into apps on both OSes because, today, when developers must make a choice, it often means neglecting one platform or the other.

Article of the Week

Aware of all this, Karen Haslam at Macworld UK has pulled together a nice article that covers the issues related to the next version of macOS 10.14.

What will it be called? Will the awkward numbering scheme (10.14) be brought into sync with iOS? What are the implications of Apple’s secret project called ‘Marzipan’? Will there be a new iTunes that’s common across both platforms? Which Macs will suppott macOS 10.14?

And here’s my own final thought. Once developers can “write once” and deploy anywhere, what new latitude will Apple have in designing its hardware line? Will iPads and Macs blur into a continuous spectrum of devices, with some overarching new name, from simple iPad-like devices to monster workstations, all running the same apps, but depend on the human interface desired?

Clearly something amazing is brewing at Apple. We’ll likely have a much clearer picture in June at Apple’s WWDC developer conference. I can’t wait.

Next Page: The News Debris For The Week of January 29th. Fighting in the OS trenches.

15 thoughts on “Here’s What’s Coming in The Next Version of macOS

  • Wow, a lot of whining for something that hasn’t been even properly described yet!

    I might contend that the security problems with servers are tangential at best to the issues with consumer machines and data.

    And what is wrong with allowing iOS apps to run on a Macintosh? That does not necessarily mean that your heavy lifting apps (where you need 2 monitors and a full sized keyboard) will have to run on an iPhone. It all depends on the implementation. That said, Windows 10 is fairly robust, some variants or Linux are user friendly. So if you really need total control and the tools you want are on those platforms, then by all means use the best tool for the job. But try not to whine about it.

    The one thing you can count on in life is change. (and the other thing is people complaining about it!)

  • John:

    Just one quick comment before I have to do some real work.

    I concur with much of the CNBC article on why Apple will succeed in the health medical record space where others have failed. Apple is well positioned, not simply with material assets, like the iOS devices (which have remarkably high penetration in both the personal consumer and the health provider spaces) and watchOS devices, but secure digital infrastructure as well. Most importantly, they have a ready and substantial instal base of users who have bought into that infrastructure, and can use that war chest of cash to fund both the R&D and investment to fuel that transition.

    On another front, Amazon and Alphabet are (and MS) are creating a private insurance option for their employees that, provided it succeeds, will undoubtedly be opened up to the public in short order, and which, if all parties play nice, could further incentivise the adoption of Apple’s (and others’) electronic medical records solutions (EMR).

    The potential for a portable EMR that health care providers can access in emergency situations will have substantial impact emergency and critical care survival, particularly when seconds count. And that’s even before we factor in potential new health monitoring and intervention technology that both Apple and third parties are working on to build into the AW and iOS devices.

    Again, I concur with the CNBC piece, a game changer, indeed.

  • I agree with you about MAc OS Server. But

    Withdrawing from enterprise support may look sensible for a consumer-oriented company, but it’s like an aerospace company pulling back from combat aircraft and claiming that it can still build superior, high performance business jets.

    Cessna? Lear? I don’t believe either ever built combat aircraft. The closest was the Cessna Skymaster but that was a weird one off that had no connection to the Citation line.
    Of course, correct me if I’m wrong.

  • It’s really insulting every time I read or hear a writer talk about iPad pro being the future…if that’s the case I’ll be going back to Windows.

    As a creative business pro, I need the horsepower, real keyboard size, and dual 27″ monitors for my “heavy lifting” duties.

    The thought of trying to do this on a grid-based icon tablet nauseate me.

    Those that do their “job” on a tablet at Starbucks are not the vast majority of creative pros, TIM COOK!

  • Bring full APFS support for Time Machine and external SSD. Besides updated Apple Mail allowing to handle thousands of messages and manually run all rules at any time with a single click.

  • I have no doubt what is coming in the next version of macOS; and I hope to be dead wrong. Basically, we will get a reduction in usability. More security features that get in the way. More dumbing down of applications. More bugs. I’m stuck on El Capitan because both Sierra and High Sierra are a degradation of the OS in spite of new technology. Consumers are cool and everything, but I really like it when the OS accommodates power users as well. Little by little, IMHO, Apple is falling by the Sony wayside. I am ready for Apple 4.0, and hopefully a return to a fervent desire to create the very best user experience that can be had. Planned obsolesence etc. be damned.

  • For me, the critical advantage in health info that Apple has over other companies out there is trust. Apple has left money on the table because they did not want to offer products and features to match competitors if it meant a surrender or even a compromise on user privacy.

    Google at one time contemplated asking people to trust them with their health information? Ha ha ha ha ha! I’d rather take a cruise on a Google barge.

  • For me, the critical advantage in health info that Apple has over other companies out there is trust. Apple has left money on the table because they did not want to offer products and features to match competitors if it meant a surrender or even a compromise on user privacy.

    Google at one time contemplated asking people to trust them with their health information? Ha ha ha ha ha! I’d rather go aboard a Google barge.

  • For me, the critical advantage in health info that Apple has over other companies out there is trust. Apple has left money on the table because they did not want to offer products and features to match competitors if it meant a surrender or even a compromise on user privacy.

    Google at one time thought contemplated asking people to trust them with their health information? Ha ha ha ha ha! I’d rather go aboard a Google barge.

  • As an Apple Music subscriber I will be picking up a HomePod on the way home from vacation in three weeks. We already have a Sonos One. What is going to be important to us is comparing the integration of each unit with Apple Music as well as the sound. Generally the hardware that is easier to use gets used in our house when other aspects are close.

    We held off on the iPhone X this past fall due to the cost. We are now on an upgrade path that is one year longer. This will make the cost of upgrading to whatever X version of the iPhone comes out this fall about same as the two year upgrade path we were on. Cost was the only reason for this change.

  • Apple is so myopic it’s stunning. “well, we make boatloads of cash with iOS toys – so we better make ALL our big boy computers run the same OS” . I was hoping they’d re-release Snow Leopard as the next OS, after SL it was all downhill. Why not take advantage of the typically HUGE screens-usually in pairs for we music and graphics guys – or any user that runs his Mac Pro thru a 70″ HD TV??? What happened to skeuomorphism? 3D layers?? Vast Customization? How about some verbal commands at app level incl. some contextual ai?
    When will Siri know the answer to “when was the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906”?
    _(ツ)_/¯ I mean that’s just embarrassing. Well, maybe they are busy working on the brain controlled UI via fMRI thought reading (a thing-believe it or not)…. but I doubt it. rant over. go pats 🏈

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