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It is available across the two major desktop operating systems, but you'd have to read the article to find that out. > The Passwords app is free to download, a

It is available across the two major desktop operating systems, but you'd have to read the article to find that out. > The Passwords app is free to download, available across iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS 15, and will also work with the Vision Pro and Windows computers, says Apple.

mrinterweb 2y ago
Unless Apple treats every major OS as a first class citizen for this password management app, this becomes another form of ecosystem/vendor lock-in. Have all your passwords securely stored in our app? Thinking about buying an Android phone? Think again. Of the major tech companies, Apple probably has the worst track record of not playing nice with other platforms, walled gardens and all. Passwords are needed on all platforms. Apple would be the last company I would trust to ensure that I would be able to access my passwords anywhere I may need them.
hot_gril 2y ago
I actually read the article and didn't see this at first. It's mentioned at the very bottom, right above the "featured stuff" and unrelated article below it, and after a lot of text about what Passwords does that Keychain already did.
smsm42 2y ago
No Linux or Android, which makes it useless for anybody having any devices running those. And since nobody wants to use two password managers, it remains a better solution to use a truly multi-platform one.
- sircastor 2y ago
  The Android one puzzles me a bit. We were Android + Mac for a very long time, more than a decade. I've switched to iOS over the last few years, but my wife remains a dedicated Android user. I don't really want to switch from BitWarden, but if I did Passwords would be a non-starter for us because of this. I suppose that Apple really considers the iPhone to be the center of its customer's lives, with a Mac or Windows computer... rather than my view, of my computer being the center and my phone tertiary.
  - swores 2y ago
    I think you might have it the wrong way round, and that you're a good example of why they do it. You actually care about your computer, and if software isn't available for your OS then you're unlikely to ever switch OS to use it. But you could be persuaded to move to iPhone, and maybe if enough new Apple services (which aren't available on Android) tempt your wife then she might make her next phone an iPhone, too? Apple cares more about persuading people to switch from Android to iPhone than about Windows to Mac. But I also suspect there are many more Windows+iPhone people than Mac+Android.
- nullindividual 2y ago
  Linux isn't even relevant in this context with it's <1% DWM install base. Android, yes you have a point, though a Mac and Android is a strange combination.
  - smsm42 2y ago
    What's strange in it? I've been using macs and android phones for over a decade. And a lot of tech savvy people do the same. Macbooks have been a solid dev platform for a while, and do not really require any mobile platform preference.
    - nsbk 2y ago
      Most of my dev team are Mac + Android users. The same is not true for data or product folks, who are mostly Mac + iPhone users.
  - freedomben 2y ago
    > though a Mac and Android is a strange combination. Probably so, but there is one demographic well represented here that does this routinely: Developers. Macs are the default and often mandatory computers issued to developers at tech companies (I strongly disagree with this approach and think employees should get the platform they are most comfortable on, but Macs only is the current state of things in most places). So many use Macs because of work, but have Android phones due to reasons I won't articulate here, mostly due to time but also with the audience on this article I expect it would melt down into an argument about which flavor of ice cream is better (metaphorically, not literally). Suffice it to say, Android users would agree with the reasons, Apple users will say you shouldn't be doing those things anyway, and we'll have to agree to disagree.
    - brailsafe 2y ago
      For me it's pragmatic; MacBooks are or have been the best laptops, and Android phones have been the best value for money while also being less locked down. IPhones are just really expensive luxury devices imo. My phone will probably break for some reason out of my control within a few years of getting it, or it'll become outdated, so I want to get the best hardware + software combination I can for around ~$400USD
neocritter 2y ago
The existence of a port does not guarantee future support of a port. Safari used to run on Windows. They're also somewhat notorious for trash quality Windows ports.
ein0p 2y ago
If it’s anything like their other Windows apps, Bitwarden is still going to be a superior option.
haswell 2y ago
Desktop Linux market share continues to grow and as a part of that group, I rely on 1Password because I can use it across all of my systems. The other major password managers are on Linux, and Apple will need to support Linux for this new offering to be interesting to me.

mrinterweb 2y ago

Unless Apple treats every major OS as a first class citizen for this password management app, this becomes another form of ecosystem/vendor lock-in. Have all your passwords securely stored in our app? Thinking about buying an Android phone? Think again. Of the major tech companies, Apple probably has the worst track record of not playing nice with other platforms, walled gardens and all. Passwords are needed on all platforms. Apple would be the last company I would trust to ensure that I would be able to access my passwords anywhere I may need them.

hot_gril 2y ago

I actually read the article and didn't see this at first. It's mentioned at the very bottom, right above the "featured stuff" and unrelated article below it, and after a lot of text about what Passwords does that Keychain already did.

smsm42 2y ago

No Linux or Android, which makes it useless for anybody having any devices running those. And since nobody wants to use two password managers, it remains a better solution to use a truly multi-platform one.

sircastor 2y ago
The Android one puzzles me a bit. We were Android + Mac for a very long time, more than a decade. I've switched to iOS over the last few years, but my wife remains a dedicated Android user. I don't really want to switch from BitWarden, but if I did Passwords would be a non-starter for us because of this. I suppose that Apple really considers the iPhone to be the center of its customer's lives, with a Mac or Windows computer... rather than my view, of my computer being the center and my phone tertiary.
- swores 2y ago
  I think you might have it the wrong way round, and that you're a good example of why they do it. You actually care about your computer, and if software isn't available for your OS then you're unlikely to ever switch OS to use it. But you could be persuaded to move to iPhone, and maybe if enough new Apple services (which aren't available on Android) tempt your wife then she might make her next phone an iPhone, too? Apple cares more about persuading people to switch from Android to iPhone than about Windows to Mac. But I also suspect there are many more Windows+iPhone people than Mac+Android.
nullindividual 2y ago
Linux isn't even relevant in this context with it's <1% DWM install base. Android, yes you have a point, though a Mac and Android is a strange combination.
- smsm42 2y ago
  What's strange in it? I've been using macs and android phones for over a decade. And a lot of tech savvy people do the same. Macbooks have been a solid dev platform for a while, and do not really require any mobile platform preference.
  - nsbk 2y ago
    Most of my dev team are Mac + Android users. The same is not true for data or product folks, who are mostly Mac + iPhone users.
- freedomben 2y ago
  > though a Mac and Android is a strange combination. Probably so, but there is one demographic well represented here that does this routinely: Developers. Macs are the default and often mandatory computers issued to developers at tech companies (I strongly disagree with this approach and think employees should get the platform they are most comfortable on, but Macs only is the current state of things in most places). So many use Macs because of work, but have Android phones due to reasons I won't articulate here, mostly due to time but also with the audience on this article I expect it would melt down into an argument about which flavor of ice cream is better (metaphorically, not literally). Suffice it to say, Android users would agree with the reasons, Apple users will say you shouldn't be doing those things anyway, and we'll have to agree to disagree.
  - brailsafe 2y ago
    For me it's pragmatic; MacBooks are or have been the best laptops, and Android phones have been the best value for money while also being less locked down. IPhones are just really expensive luxury devices imo. My phone will probably break for some reason out of my control within a few years of getting it, or it'll become outdated, so I want to get the best hardware + software combination I can for around ~$400USD

neocritter 2y ago

The existence of a port does not guarantee future support of a port. Safari used to run on Windows. They're also somewhat notorious for trash quality Windows ports.

ein0p 2y ago

If it’s anything like their other Windows apps, Bitwarden is still going to be a superior option.

haswell 2y ago

Desktop Linux market share continues to grow and as a part of that group, I rely on 1Password because I can use it across all of my systems. The other major password managers are on Linux, and Apple will need to support Linux for this new offering to be interesting to me.