How to run iPad apps on a Mac or use an emulator

• You can’t run iPad apps natively on a Mac computer without using an emulator, although that will change with a new generation of Macs, launching in late 2020.
• The new Macs will run on new Apple-designed chips that are similar to the ARM chips in iPadOS devices, making them compatible.
• Older Intel-based Macs cannot run iPad apps without an emulator, which is not easy to use and has many limitations.
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If you want to run apps from your iPad on a Mac, the traditional answer is that you can’t, at least not normally. There is one exception: you can use an iPadOS emulator on your Mac. Read more about that below. But right now, iPad apps are fundamentally incompatible with the architecture and operating system of a Mac computer. However, that is changing.

Soon you will be able to run iPad applications on some Macs

In early 2020, Apple announced that it would soon begin producing Mac computers with its own Apple-designed chipsets, ditching the Intel chips it has used for many years. When it does, the new Macs, which will share an architecture similar to iPadOS devices, will be able to run iPad apps.

Apple has been making its own ARM-based chips for iOS and iPadOS devices for years. ARM chipsets are characterized by low power processors commonly found in mobile devices such as phones, tablets, and some laptops, optimized to provide the best battery life. Starting in late 2020, Apple hopes to release MacBooks and other Mac computers with similar high-performance ARM chips.

Due to the similar architecture, Apple has already announced that this will allow Apple computers to run iPad apps natively without further changes or modifications. You will be able to install iPad apps directly from the Mac app store.

The exact timing is uncertain, but the first of these new Macs is expected before the end of 2020. Note that for quite some time, there will be both Intel chipset and Apple chipset Macs, and only with Apple will chipsets be able to run iPad applications. This can get a bit confusing until most Intel-based Macs are retired.

Run iPad apps with an emulator

The new Macs may arrive soon, but that’s not the whole story. Because software developers need to be able to test iPadOS applications quickly and easily, they sometimes use emulator software to run iPad applications on their Macs.

There are a handful of emulators available for Mac that can run iPad applications, but these programs are not easy to install or manage, and it is generally not possible to install applications from the Apple App Store; you are limited to only the applications you developed. yourself and have stored locally. One of the most common emulators is Xcode, which is a simulator offered by Apple.