A few days after official kickoff, Mac + iOS universal purchases are starting to appear in the Mac App Store and the App Store, blowing up a barrier between the two stores.
These universal shopping can make one think of “universal applications”: the user will see that he obtains an application running on his Mac as well as on his iPhone and his iPad (or even his Apple Watch and his Apple TV in addition). In reality, there are still different versions of the same application, but the universal purchase tends to hide it. The border is all the more blurred as universal purchases are ideal for Mac applications created with Catalyst, which are “only” ports of iOS applications.
Universal purchase apps are therefore listed on both the App Store and the Mac App Store. On Mac, we recognize them by the mention “Includes the app for the iPhone and iPad” shown below the screenshots. By clicking on this text, we reveal the screenshots of the other versions.
On iOS, it is therefore the reverse, the app sheet indicates that it includes the Mac app and the iPhone or iPad app, depending on whether you consult the App Store from your tablet or smartphone.
After purchasing on one of the platforms, if you have activated the automatic download of apps, the second version of the app will automatically install on the other platform. Otherwise, you will see the cloud icon appear on the app card in the second store to download your purchase.
We spotted two applications already taking advantage of universal purchase: the notepad Quick Draft (free) and the game Bingo machine (€ 2.29). Note that universal purchases also work for in-app purchases and subscriptions.
If the App Store and the Mac App Store are getting closer to this new feature, they do not (yet) merge: apps only iOS are visible exclusively on the App Store, and vice versa for apps only compatible Mac.
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