Apple considering merger of MacOS and iOS apps under plan to be unveiled at Worldwide Developers Conference in June

Apps for iPhones, iPads and Mac machines could be merged into a single binary from 2021

Apple is considering a plan to combine apps for iPhone, iPad and its Mac computers in an initiative codenamed Project Marzipan. The project would enable developers to create a single binary enabling their app to be run across all three platforms.

According to Bloomberg, the company is expected to give more details about the initiative at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June, although it echoes rumours that first surfaced in 2017 and which were reiterated this time last year.

The company is expected to unveil a new software development kit (SDK) later this year that will mean that developers only need to write the code once, although they will still need to submit the resulting app separately to both the iOS App Store and the Mac App Store.

The shift, though, will be made in stages. The first stage will enable developers to port their iPad apps to Apple's Mac computers, according to Bloomberg. In 2020, Apple will expand the programme to enable iPhone apps to be ported to the Mac.

In 2021, it ought to be possible for developers to produce a single app across iPhone, iPad and Mac under a single binary, when they won't need to continue submitting the same app to different Apple app stores.

However, Bloomberg also reported that its "people familiar with the effort" cautioned that "the plans are fluid and could be altered". Apple, meanwhile, has declined to comment on the report.

It added, though, that the initiative comes ahead of internal efforts at Apple to shift Mac and MacBook CPU architectures from Intel to its own in-house designed ARM-based microprocessors, a move that might ease Project Marzipan.