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I tried to do this recently to download some apps to my Macbook - a few 3rd party apps and the new Journal app from Apple. As far as I could tell, only some app

I tried to do this recently to download some apps to my Macbook - a few 3rd party apps and the new Journal app from Apple. As far as I could tell, only some apps are directly installable on the laptop, despite this claim? It seemed like I basically needed to sideload the file directly from my phone to the computer. I tried googling and chatgpt, but would love to hear that I missed something!

madeofpalk 3y ago
Developers have the option to disable iOS apps from being installed on Apple silicon macs. Unfortunately most 'big' apps just disable this for whatever reason. I don't believe you can 'sideload' unsupported ipas from an iOS device any more.
- kmeisthax 3y ago
  The reason why everyone disabled their iPhone & iPad apps on macOS is because nobody wants to license their software for unified purchases. Either because they want to charge different prices for each platform (which means they have to sell them separately and charge you twice), or because they're a streaming app with different licensing requirements between mobile and desktop. This isn't even exclusive to Apple. When Microsoft added Android app support to Windows 11, they also updated the Amazon App Store version of Minecraft so that it'd only work on a Fire tablet, because they want you to buy the more expensive native port. The alternative would be getting rid of the $7 tablet version and making everyone pay $30 for Minecraft just in case someone wants to port their licenses over to Windows.
  - turquoisevar 3y ago
    I believe the reason behind it is more petty or silly (pick you poison). A lot of bigger developers, especially streaming services, got spooked by the fact that users can inspect the .app bundle and look inside, with assets easy to copy. In response a lot of big developers disabled the option because I guess security through obscurity sounds appealing.
    - kmeisthax 3y ago
      Most users on macOS aren't opening bundles. Even if that was part of the threat model, Apple doesn't encrypt bundle resources; only the binaries[0]. Before they got rid of iTunes, you actually used to be able to download IPAs through it to sync them onto your iPhone[1]. The IPA files were right on the drive and could be opened by anyone. The underlying interfaces to do this still exist and you can still get IPAs today using Apple Configurator 2, iMazing[2], or straight off the Apple CDN[3]. [0] https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/13486 https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/13486 This is also why you can't run iOS apps on unsigned macOS - the secure enclave will refuse to decrypt apps unless the currently booted OS is Apple-signed, with the usual integrity protections in place. [1] https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/298391/how-do-i-download-an-ios-app-ipa-file-to-my-mac-after-itunes-12-7-update https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/298391/how-do-i-do... [2] https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes Also, shoutout to iMazing in general, it's a really useful tool for playing around with device backups. [3] I can't find the citation for this but I swear I saw a blog post that told you how to do this.
      - turquoisevar 3y ago
        You’re preaching to the choir. I was just relaying what I’ve heard through the grapevine of people working at those companies. It’s silly, but when did that ever stop a company from making decisions like this?
- nodamage 3y ago
  > Unfortunately most 'big' apps just disable this for whatever reason. Probably because they already have Mac apps built with native Mac controls designed specifically for use with a mouse and keyboard. Why would they enable the option to run a shittier touch-centric user interface and confuse their users with two different versions of the same app?
  - madeofpalk 3y ago
    In most cases, no, they do not have an available app.
  - obmelvin 3y ago
    The Journal app doesn't have a Mac app and neither do any of the other apps I was hoping to use. I understand what you are saying, but personally I'd be more than fine with the touch-centric UI - I recognize that as a trade off. In particular, I want to use the Journal app more - but I'm just not going to write very much on a phone.
- dzhiurgis 3y ago
  My guess is easier scraping and abuse.
- lucasban 3y ago
  In some cases it’s just testing effort. If they don’t see a use case for using their app (e.g. they have a website with equivalent functionality), it is easier just to disable it and not increase testing scope.

madeofpalk 3y ago

Developers have the option to disable iOS apps from being installed on Apple silicon macs. Unfortunately most 'big' apps just disable this for whatever reason. I don't believe you can 'sideload' unsupported ipas from an iOS device any more.

kmeisthax 3y ago
The reason why everyone disabled their iPhone & iPad apps on macOS is because nobody wants to license their software for unified purchases. Either because they want to charge different prices for each platform (which means they have to sell them separately and charge you twice), or because they're a streaming app with different licensing requirements between mobile and desktop. This isn't even exclusive to Apple. When Microsoft added Android app support to Windows 11, they also updated the Amazon App Store version of Minecraft so that it'd only work on a Fire tablet, because they want you to buy the more expensive native port. The alternative would be getting rid of the $7 tablet version and making everyone pay $30 for Minecraft just in case someone wants to port their licenses over to Windows.
- turquoisevar 3y ago
  I believe the reason behind it is more petty or silly (pick you poison). A lot of bigger developers, especially streaming services, got spooked by the fact that users can inspect the .app bundle and look inside, with assets easy to copy. In response a lot of big developers disabled the option because I guess security through obscurity sounds appealing.
  - kmeisthax 3y ago
    Most users on macOS aren't opening bundles. Even if that was part of the threat model, Apple doesn't encrypt bundle resources; only the binaries[0]. Before they got rid of iTunes, you actually used to be able to download IPAs through it to sync them onto your iPhone[1]. The IPA files were right on the drive and could be opened by anyone. The underlying interfaces to do this still exist and you can still get IPAs today using Apple Configurator 2, iMazing[2], or straight off the Apple CDN[3]. [0] https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/13486 https://forums.developer.apple.com/forums/thread/13486 This is also why you can't run iOS apps on unsigned macOS - the secure enclave will refuse to decrypt apps unless the currently booted OS is Apple-signed, with the usual integrity protections in place. [1] https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/298391/how-do-i-download-an-ios-app-ipa-file-to-my-mac-after-itunes-12-7-update https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/298391/how-do-i-do... [2] https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes Also, shoutout to iMazing in general, it's a really useful tool for playing around with device backups. [3] I can't find the citation for this but I swear I saw a blog post that told you how to do this.
    - turquoisevar 3y ago
      You’re preaching to the choir. I was just relaying what I’ve heard through the grapevine of people working at those companies. It’s silly, but when did that ever stop a company from making decisions like this?
nodamage 3y ago
> Unfortunately most 'big' apps just disable this for whatever reason. Probably because they already have Mac apps built with native Mac controls designed specifically for use with a mouse and keyboard. Why would they enable the option to run a shittier touch-centric user interface and confuse their users with two different versions of the same app?
- madeofpalk 3y ago
  In most cases, no, they do not have an available app.
- obmelvin 3y ago
  The Journal app doesn't have a Mac app and neither do any of the other apps I was hoping to use. I understand what you are saying, but personally I'd be more than fine with the touch-centric UI - I recognize that as a trade off. In particular, I want to use the Journal app more - but I'm just not going to write very much on a phone.
dzhiurgis 3y ago
My guess is easier scraping and abuse.
lucasban 3y ago
In some cases it’s just testing effort. If they don’t see a use case for using their app (e.g. they have a website with equivalent functionality), it is easier just to disable it and not increase testing scope.