I used to use Overcast on my Mac but replaced it with Apple Podcasts due to the recent UI changes in Overcast.
I also use Moonlight Mahjong, the only computer game I play on any platform.
Authy. Even before they discontinued the desktop version, it languished - it was the last Intel app on my M1 mac, and was intolerably and inexplicably slow. So I tried the iPad version as soon as I could, and never went back.
It has most of my two-factor authentication codes, so I need to use it frequently. Having it on my desktop is easier than rooting around for my iphone.
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A few iOS-only audiogames. Quite impressive that it works at all, really. Also the stuff written in ChoiceScript (choiceofgames.com, etc) but now that I can play in an actual web browser on their site (and purchase for less, too) that’s my preferred option. This is never going to be a Mac-native experience, for obvious reasons. My primary Mac is still Intel, so I’ve still a strong bias toward native and web apps. The emulation is clunky even when it works, and I would never favour it even if it were the only option.
I’ve tried to use some LGTV WebOS remote control apps, but none worked well. I wanted to use the pathetic iRobot Roomba app, but it’s apparently forbidden.
I am also a dinosaur! I do what I can on a computer. But since mine is old I had no idea newer ones allowed us to run iOS apps. I look for actual Mac versions.
iMessage is a godsend for my oft-mistyped messages. Please tell me that still exists!
I missed Wyze offering viewing of cameras in a web browser and don’t take advantage of it as often as I should.
Diane
I’ve tried but all my iPad apps either are not supported or not allowed due to license restrictions.
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I use Letterboxd’s app on my desktop pretty frequently. I like the UI, and like being able to keep track of my movie watching habits.
The app doesn’t scale well on my 4K display, but having the app icon on the dock and accessible just works for me.
Many of the apps I use are faster ways to accomplish what is normally done in a web browser. I had forgotten that this feature of MacOS existed, so this article was a great reminder to try it out.
There are, indeed, several apps I could see myself using this way–particularly since the version that gets installed on my Mac is designed for the iPad in some cases, and therefore makes better use of the larger screen.
I have one iOS app running on my Mac, but not by choice. SkySafari Pro (an astronomy app for viewing the sky) has been available in a Mac version for quite a while. They didn’t update the Mac version and now only have a iOS version - and that can be run on the Mac - and it works, but not very well. It took me a while to figure out that this had happened - they claimed they had a Mac version when in fact not. The iPad version works well and basically that is what I use most of the time now. I still have the older Mac version which still works.
I might actually have to try that. It would be good to do CLZ cataloging with a real keyboard.
One area – perhaps the only one – where this is completely ubiquitous and routine is iOS music apps; lots about this on e.g. the Audiobus forum. But I do also use the wonderful visual dictionary/thesaurus/random-word inspiration generator WordFlex a lot in the absence of a native desktop version.
I use the Classical KUSC app on my iMac every morning as I read the overnight news, incoming email, and such. Jennifer Miller Hammel provides a lovely mix of classical music to start the day.
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Although not necessary but as a convenience, I use the ThermoWorks iOS app to connect to their node thermometer that keeps track of my swimming pool temperature.
Listening to a music stream via its IOS app on a Mac has one disadvantage: you cannot use Airplay to direct the output to multiple devices. You need to use the system Sound controls, which do not allow streaming to multiple devices without using an add-on like Airfoil from Rogue Amoeba. On the other hand, if there is an equivalent AAC or MP3 stream URL you can open that stream in the computer version of Apple Music, which does allow multiple Airplay devices.
In my situation, I have a Homepod Mini in my bedroom and a stereo Homepod setup in my Living Room. So, I run a stream (usually the jazz stream from KCSM) and have it play in my office, bedroom, and living room. I have playlists for the streams I listen to stored in Apple Music.
KUSC has a page on its website that shows the stream URLs for both AAC and MP3 streams.
I haven’t yet, but I’m tempted to see how iPad Minecraft (Bedrock Edition) runs on my Studio, since the normal Mac Minecraft is Java Edition.
Dave
Mojang (or maybe Microsoft as a way to give Windows an advantage?) has disallowed the iOS version of Minecraft from running on the Mac. Seems completely unnecessary given Windows will run the Bedrock version as well as Java.
@Diane D: Yes - iMessage is on my M3 Mac.
I just tried it for the first time. I tried to find standard Apple weather for the iPhone. I thought I did, but it immediately started trying to sell me a premium annual subscription. I didn’t even know that Apple had premium weather subscriptions. The view was apparently designed sort of for a Mac, but not that easy on the eyes.
Anyway, not sure I would use this feature. What’s an example of an app where it’s worthwhile to use it on the Mac?
Solaredge to monitor my solar panels. I’ve also tried the BlueSky app, but it’s too small.
The Mac Twitter app has been discontinued & you are now supposed to use the X iPad app (or the web interface).
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Yep, I sometimes use the KUSC streaming URLs for AirPlay coverage through my home, but the app is nice for quick one-click access while I’m at my Mac with coffee and bialy in hand; plus, it displays the current piece and composer playing and offers access to other KUSC streams.
It’s great to have options.