Apple could be planning a big change in how you get apps on the company’s devices, according to a new report.
The tech giant has a project underway called Marzipan that could eventually pave the way for iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps all being able to run on any Apple device, Bloomberg is reporting, citing people who claim to have knowledge of Apple’s plans. The project, which could be completed by 2021, would allow developers to create one app and make it available on Macs, iPhones, and iPads, according to the report.
Combining Apple app development in one is something rumormongers have been touting for years. At face value, the idea makes sense. It would allow developers to create a single program and reduce development costs. For Apple, it would streamline its App Store and potentially boost revenue by syndicating apps to all of its devices. Developers, too, could also stand to make more cash by getting in front of more people at once.
But in the past, Apple CEO Tim Cook has brushed aside calls for Apple (AAPL) to merge its mobile and computer products. He’s said on several occasions that combining those experiences could hurt both platforms.
“We don’t believe in sort of watering down one for the other. Both are incredible,” Cook said in an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald last year. “One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two … you begin to make trade offs and compromises.”
It’s a refrain Apple’s other executives have used in interviews dating back several years.
According to Bloomberg’s report, Marzipan is careful to focus on app development processes and not actually combine Apple’s iOS-based devices with its macOS-based products. Instead, the company would keep its operating systems and devices separate. The only change here would be in streamlining the app development experience and providing an easier way for software to get to all of Apple’s products.
Still, like anything in Apple’s universe, things can change and Bloomberg’s sources said that plans are still fluid.
Apple did not immediately respond to a Fortune request for comment.
