Mac Catalyst Apps: Our Favorites So Far
macOS Catalina includes a new Mac Catalyst feature that's designed to make it simple for developers to bring their apps created for the iPad over to the Mac App Store.
Several developers have taken advantage of the new capabilities in Catalina to create Mac Catalyst apps for the Mac App Store, and we thought we'd round up the most useful of these for those who are wondering how Mac Catalyst apps work and how they compare to their iPad app counterparts.
- Twitter for Mac (Free) - With Mac Catalyst, Twitter reintroduced a Twitter app for the Mac, a year after the original Twitter for Mac was eliminated. Twitter for Mac is a hybrid of the iPad app and the web interface, though it more closely resembles the browser version of Twitter. It works as you'd expect a Twitter for Mac app to work, with a navigation bar on the left for swapping between mentions and messages, and then a Twitter timeline.
- GoodNotes 5 ($7.99) - Popular note taking app GoodNotes 5 is available on the Mac following the launch of macOS Catalina. You can view and access your notes, but taking notes is a much better experience on the iPad because you can use the Apple Pencil or a stylus. You can write on the Mac version, but it requires a mouse or a trackpad, which is not the best experience. Being able to reference your notes on your Mac is super useful, even if the bulk of the functionality is designed for the iPad.
- Allegory ($3.99) - For those who prefer Markdown, Allegory is a Mac Catalyst app that's now available on the Mac. It's simple, straightforward, easy to use, and the available feature set is the same across the iPad and the Mac.
- Carrot Weather ($14.99) - Carrot Weather is a popular iOS app that's now on the Mac. It uses Dark Sky and offers up some accurate weather data. What's more, it has a snarky attitude that turns boring weather information into a much more fun interaction. Carrot Weather is one of our favorite Mac Catalyst apps so far, and given the app's simplicity, it's quite similar to the iPad version.
- Rosetta Stone (Free) - Rosetta Stone on the iPad is an app designed to help you learn a language, and in Catalina, the Rosetta Stone app is also on the Mac. It's a solid port and the experience is overall the same, with the bonus of being able to swap between devices to learn a language no matter what you're using. The app is free, but it requires a subscription.
With Catalyst apps, Mac versions need to be purchased separately from iOS versions, which is a downside that may put some people off of them. For your favorite apps, though, the purchase price may be worth the cross platform availability.
Mac Catalyst apps are still in the early stages of rolling out, and Apple has plans to expand the Catalyst feature in the future. We can expect to see more apps designed for the iPad ported over to the Mac as time progresses, and if you've found a great Mac Catalyst app, feel free to mention it in the comments.
Right now, you can see a collection of other Mac Catalyst apps in the Mac App Store under the "Apps You Love Now On Your Mac" section of the Mac App Store, but it's otherwise tough to tell a Catalyst app from a regular Mac app.
Popular Stories
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important.
Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped.
The new ...
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year.
Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker.
The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy.
The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device.
The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
