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No, Twitter, Asphalt 9 and DC Universe aren't quitting MacOS Catalina

Apple's Project Catalyst brings iPad apps to the Mac, but not all of the most anticipated apps were ready at launch.

Alison DeNisco Rayome Managing Editor
Managing Editor Alison DeNisco Rayome joined CNET in 2019, and is a member of the Home team. She is a co-lead of the CNET Tips and We Do the Math series, and manages the Home Tips series, testing out new hacks for cooking, cleaning and tinkering with all of the gadgets and appliances in your house. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic.
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Alison DeNisco Rayome
2 min read
project-catalyst

Project Catalyst was announced at WWDC in June. 

Apple

Apple's Project Catalyst software, announced at WWDC in June, has a clear goal: making it possible to install and use iPad apps on the Mac. However, with the rollout of MacOS Catalina this week, three of the most anticipated launch apps for Project Catalyst have yet to appear. And Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Netflix does not plan to port its iPad to the Mac -- something Mac users had been hoping for

That has led to overzealous speculation that app makers are abandoning Project Catalyst and MacOS Catalina. 

But while apps from video and comic book streaming service DC Universe and car racing game Asphalt 9 were both removed from the Project Catalyst website this week, both are still planned for a future release, according to a person familiar with Apple's rollout plans. Popular apps including Twitter and TripIt are also still coming to Mac soon, according to Apple's website

In the case of Asphalt 9, "the game has been slightly delayed as we polish the experience," a spokesperson for Asphalt 9's parent company Gameloft said. However, "we look forward to launching Asphalt 9 on Mac later this year," they added. 

DC Universe didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Over a million apps are available for the iPad. While users are beginning to see some of these move over to the Mac thanks to Catalyst, it will likely take a long time before a significant number are ported over and the conversion process gets smoothed out for developers. Many of them have never created apps for the Mac before and so they have to deal with a different set of user expectations. 

The ultimate goal is for a development team to be able to create a single app that spans from iPhone to iPad to Mac, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said at WWDC. Catalyst can help with that, but the future of bringing more iPad apps that consumers love to the Mac will likely rest with the new SwiftUI tool that Apple also unveiled at WWDC 2019.

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The Twitter app on MacOS Catalina. 

Apple

What Catalyst apps are available on MacOS now?

The following 24 Catalyst apps are available in the MacOS App Store at launch:

  • GoodNotes 5
  • Crew
  • LookUp: English Dictionary
  • Proloquo2Go
  • HabitMinder
  • PDF Viewer - Annotation Expert
  • Jira Cloud by Atlassian
  • CARROT Weather
  • E-signature app - Zoho Sign
  • Planny 3 - Smart To Do List
  • Allegory
  • Lire
  • Zoho Invoice
  • MoneyCoach
  • Accounting App - Zoho Books
  • Rosetta Stone
  • Zoho Expense
  • Nocturne
  • Zoho Inventory
  • Dice by PCalc
  • Beat Keeper
  • Pine
  • King's Corner
  • Tidur Timers

These apps offer "the Mac experience you've come to expect, while taking full advantage of the larger screen and powerful hardware," according to Apple's website. 

Twitter and Netflix didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Watch this: The top 3 upgrades in MacOS Catalina