How Come Apps Dont Work On Mac

  
How Come Apps Dont Work On Mac 4,7/5 9343 votes

Sometimes you’ll find apps not showing in iTunes. In the past, this problem was long associated with an outdated version of iTunes, outdated iOS firmware and even jailbreaking device. But recently the problem has become even more pronounced even in non-jailbreak devices.

If you are unable to see apps in iTunes, you’re in the right place. This article will help you determine exactly why it’s happening as well as offer you a few solutions you can try.

Why Apps Do Not Show Up in iTunes Library

Apr 20, 2020 Now try and sign in into the Mac App Store. If you are signed in to Apple Music or podcast or TV app, Sign out of it using the ‘Account’ menu item at the top. Sign back in into the app and next try and access the Mac App Store and check if you are able to sign in and apply the app updates. Update Apps via Terminal. Use Terminal to Update! I mean I don't want to be harsh on it, but it's in no way a 'fine' release. The limitations really cause you to utilize both mac and pc versions to really optimally utilize. If you are are a hard core.net user, I don't see a way you could use mac only. – Randy May 29 '18 at 16:57. It is certainly one of the most feature-rich writing apps for Mac. We hope the above writing apps for Mac help you create your dream story or screenplay in time. If you want a better work space, do take a look at free time tracker apps for Mac and Calendar apps for Mac. Just the way above-mentioned tools will help you improve your writing. If your camera doesn’t work with a specific photo-editing or video-conferencing app, it may be incompatible with that application. For example, you can’t make video calls using the Skype app if you or the person you’re contacting has an outdated version of Skype (version 2.8 or older). Google Maps or GMail at least cannot be set to split view with some other app. Chrome, Keep and Translate work. On the apps where it doesn't work you can get another app as a floating one but not in split view. It's ridiculous when their two most used apps don't support split view when they are also the ones that would be the most useful that way. It happens that apps on Mac don’t always respond to user commands, so active processes still occupy the system memory. You may need to force quit apps to fix a frozen Mac. In this article, we share the ways how to close frozen programs on Mac, including the case when force quit on Mac is not working.

Like we mentioned before, users often blamed Apps not showing in iTunes Library on an outdated version of the program. Yet, apps can still be invisible in iTunes 12.7. If you are Running iTunes 12.7 you should know that Apple has significantly changed iTunes such that it doesn’t sync apps and ringtones anymore and mainly focuses on movies, music, podcasts, audiobooks and TV Shows.

Much of the iTunes functionality as you know it has changed which is why you may be unable to see apps in iTunes. To begin with, there is no Apps tab in the iTunes library anymore. The “Apps” tab under device is also missing and so is the “Store” tab.

How to Fix Apps Not Showing in iTunes

1. Sign Out and Sign in to Your Apple Account

If you are not running iTunes 12.7 but you still can’t see your Apps in the iTunes library, sometimes signing out of your account and then signing back in can help. Follow these simple steps to do it;

How Come Apps Don't Work On Mac Air

Step 1: On your device, tap on the “App Store” to open it.

Step 2: Tap on the “Featured” section at the bottom of the screen.

Step 3: Scroll down to find your Apple ID. Tap on the ID to open additional options.

Step 4: Tap on “Sign Out”.

Step 5: Now sign in back into your account to see if the problem has been fixed.

2. Transfer Purchases to iTunes App on Computer

Another way you can fix this problem is to transfer all the apps on your device to your computer so that are synced and available on both iTunes and the device. Follow these simple steps to do it.

Step 1: Open the iTunes app on your computer and then connect the iPhone to the computer using USB cables.

Step 2: In iTunes, click on “View” and then select “Show Sidebar.”

Step 3: When the sidebar appears, find the device and right-click on it. Select “Transfer Purchases” from the options presented.

This will transfer all your purchases and download to iTunes and you’ll be able to see them when you open iTunes.

3. Detect and Fix iTunes Issues

If you have went through the above two methods and your Purchases still not showing up, try log in another Apple ID if you have, see if iTunes shows up the Purchases in this ID. If it does, try method 4; if it doesn't show up as well, it might due to the problem of your iTunes, you may need a tool to check and fix the iTunes issues.

4. Restore iPhone and Set it as New

If all solutions you try don’t work to fix the device, you may want to restore the iPhone and set it up as new. Most people will restore a device in iTunes or iCloud while these two methods can be reliable, they can also lead to data loss. The data restored back to your device will often not include any new data that wasn’t in the backup.

To avoid this problem you could try using a third-party tool like iMyFone D-Port Pro to restore an iPhone system. This backup and restore tool is ideal because it makes these process easy and may even protect you from data loss.

You can also choose to restore part of the backed up data or restore all the data back to the device without overwriting previous backup. It can also be used to easily export data from your device to your computer. It’s reliable, it is highly recommended by many noted media, including Macworld, APPKED, Pcworld, Techradar, etc. You can download the free trial version to have a try!

In December, it was reported that Apple was looking into bridging the worlds of iOS and macOS even further with universal apps that could run on both platforms.

And now Axios says Apple's still on track to bring iPad apps to Macs this year. No mention of iPhone apps running on Mac. Just iPad apps.

Yuck, no thanks.

SEE ALSO: Why it makes sense for Apple to drop 3D Touch from this year's new iPhone

Known internally as 'Marzipan' according to Bloomberg's report last year, the project would allow developers to create a single version of an app that works with touchscreens (iOS) or mouse and keyboard (Mac).

And while universal compatibility would be the near-term outcome, long-term, this new undertaking could lead to one operating system that runs on all of Apple's devices.

The approach would be similar to what Microsoft already has with its Universal Windows Apps (UWA): Apps that work on desktops, laptops and tablets running Windows 10, and even Windows 10 Mobile phones (RIP).

Heck, Apple's alleged plans to bring iPad apps to Macs has more in common with Android apps running on Chrome OS.

But there's a fundamental difference between Apple and Microsoft/Google. Microsoft needed UWAs for a number of reasons: get more apps on Windows 10 Mobile and get more apps on Windows 10 tablets. Both strategies failed.

Google has had more success. It needs Android apps on Chrome OS because the entire platform is built on cloud-based services and web apps. As robust as some of them are, they still pale in comparison to the kind of features available from a native Windows or Mac app.

Which brings us to iPad apps on Mac. Who needs them? It's not like Macs are starving for apps like Chrome OS is.

There are tons of Mac apps, like Microsoft Office, iMovie, and Adobe Lightroom, with way more features than their watered-down versions on iPad. Why would anyone want fewer features on a computer platform that's designed to help you do more? It doesn't add up.

Now, I know that there are some apps (like the official Twitter app) on iPad that are updated more often than their Mac versions, but those are pretty rare.

Bringing iPad apps to the Mac also raises another question: How do you control them? With keyboard and mouse, dummy! Yeah, Apple would probably make it easy for developers to add keyboard and mouse support to their apps just as devs can with Android apps for Chrome OS, but that defeats the whole point of good app design.

How Come Apps Don't Work On Mac Computer

A good iPad app is one that embraces the advantages and limitations of a touchscreen. Does Angry Birds work with a mouse? It sure does, but it plays better on a touchscreen. Similarly, iMovie, with all of its precise controls and settings, is better suited for a mouse and keyboard than using your chubby fingers.

How Come Apps Dont Work On Macbook Pro

Universal Windows apps and Android apps work well on PCs and Chromebooks because most of them now come with touchscreens. There are no Macs with touchscreens (and no, accessories like the AirBar that 'transform your Mac's screen into a touchscreen' don't count).

Does iPad app support mean Macs with touchscreens are coming? It's possible, but Apple's been pretty against touchscreens and it's unlikely that'll change.

Back in 2010, Steve Jobs said: 'We've done tons of user testing on this, and it turns out it doesn't work. Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical.'

Apple's been resisting touchscreens on Macs for nearly a decade, even as PCs and Chromebooks have added them.

At the same time, Apple's also defended its reasons for not merging iOS and macOS into any one super OS. In an interview with with CNET following the launch of the controversial Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller said:

'We did spend a great deal of time looking at this a number of years ago and came to the conclusion that to make the best personal computer, you can’t try to turn MacOS into an iPhone. Conversely, you can’t turn iOS into a Mac…. So each one is best at what they’re meant to be — and we take what makes sense to add from each, but without fundamentally changing them so they’re compromised.'

Instead, Apple prefers to keep iOS and separate because it plays to their strengths:

'It is great to provide two different ways to solve some of the same things, but they also do very unique things that the other doesn’t. Having them separate allows us to explore both, versus trying to force them into one — and only one — model.'

What boggles me the most is that iPad apps are reportedly planned for Mac this year, but not iPhone apps. As somebody who loved the Google Pixelbook and greatly enjoyed using Android phone apps in a windowed desktop environment, I'm confused as to why Apple wouldn't bring iPhone apps simultaneously with iPad apps. There are over twice as many iPhone apps than on iPad (2.2 million versus 1 million) and most iPhone apps don't have iPad-optimized versions.

Mac

Here are the top five free iPad apps of 2017, according to Apple:

  1. YouTube

  2. Netflix

  3. Facebook

  4. Messenger

  5. Google Chrome

Not a single one of these needs an Mac app — all of them work just fine in your desktop browser. I suppose Netflix would be better as a Mac app because then you'd be able to download videos to watch offline, but other than that, there's no reason it needs an app.

Now, compare that list to the top five free iPhone apps of 2017:

  1. Bitmoji

  2. Snapchat

  3. YouTube

  4. Voice recorder app how to get files on mac. Messenger

  5. Instagram

The No. 1, 2, and 5 apps are all iPhone-only and don't have native iPad apps. You could even scratch Instagram off the list because it's got a web version.

So, as you can see, iPhone apps would be far more desirable on Mac than iPad apps.

Aside from the aforementioned possibility of touchscreen Macs coming, I can only think of two other reasons why Apple would want to push developers to bring iPad apps to the Mac: gaming and greed.

Gaming is a no brainer. Compared to PCs, gaming on Macs is pretty sad. Sure, Macs get a port every once in a while, but you don't buy one expecting to play the latest AAA blockbuster on it. You just don't because most Macs have punier graphics cards than PCs.

iPhone apps would be far more desirable on Mac than iPad apps.

Which only leaves greed. Apple is a business and a successful business is one that makes money. And right now the Mac App Store is languishing. It's not making anywhere near as much money as it could be.

Developers have mostly given up on the Mac App Store — the most popular apps like Office and Adobe Creative Cloud aren't sold on it — which means Apple can't get a percentage cut for every download that's sold, like it does from the apps sold on the App Store.

How do you prod developers into getting pumped for the Mac App Store again? You sell them on this idea of iPad apps working on Macs. It's a new revenue stream! It's good for developers and it's good for Apple, company execs will say. Except, like I said, it's not actually that good for developers. Why should devs give Apple a cut when they can sell directly to users and collect in full? It's already working just fine for Microsoft and Adobe.

You know who else it's not good for? Customers. There's already a great place to run iPad apps — it's called an iPad. Apple already sells two iPad Pros with keyboards and Apple Pencils that are designed from the ground up for touchscreen use. Leave the iPad and Mac separate. There's more than enough room for both to coexist.

Definitely fix the Mac App Store and give developers a reason to sell their apps on there, but don't just shoehorn iPad apps on the Mac and declare it 'mission complete.'