My iPhone apps cannot be made available on Apple Silicon Mac

user_4030065 0
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In App Store Connect > Pricing and Availability, there is a new checkbox for managing availability on Mac for iOS apps.

I can check the checkbox named "Make this app available on Mac".
But under it, the following message is shown.

Version x.x.x cannot be made available on Mac
(x.x.x is the latest version of the app)

Can I make the app available on Mac or can't it be made available on Mac?
Which is correct, the made-available checkbox or the message?

Apple says "Compatibility with macOS is determined by Apple" in https://developer.apple.com/support/ios-ipados-mac
So, if the app is not compatible, the checkbox should not be shown?

My apps are normal iPhone apps which do not use any special features, devices, or third-party libraries except in-app purchase.

Does anyone know the conditions for iOS apps to be available on Mac?
What message is displayed on your Pricing and Availability's Mac Availability section?

macos-big-sur ipad swift macos ios
2 Answers

Does anyone know the conditions for iOS apps to be available on Mac?

Not all frameworks are available on both platforms. In order to work on the Mac, you'll have to make sure that your app doesn't use any frameworks that aren't available on that platform.

So, if the app is not compatible, the checkbox should not be shown?

I'd interpret that checkbox as indicating whether you want the app to be available for Mac. There are reasons beyond compatibility that you might want to prevent the app from being installed on a Mac. For example, you might already have a macOS version of the app that you want people to use instead. Apple might be able to determine whether your app can run on macOS, but you still get to decide whether it should run on macOS.

Considering your question, it sounds like you think the app should, but Apple has determined that it cannot in its current state. You'll need to dig into the project and figure out what framework might be preventing that.

user_6433830

I've found that all my iPhone-only apps can not be available on Mac (the "Version x.x.x cannot be made available on Mac" message is shown on the Pricing and Availability settings in App Store Connect), but iPhone-and-iPad apps can be available on Mac (the message is not shown).

I guess iPad-only apps probably can be available on Mac, too, but I'm not sure about that because I don't have iPad-only apps.

It seems that Xcode versions with which apps are compiled are not relevant with Mac compatibility, because my iPhone-and-iPad apps which can be available on Mac are compiled many years ago.

Though all my iPhone-only apps can not be available on Mac, I don't know all iPhone-only apps can not be available on Mac, because Apple says "all compatible iPhone apps and iPad apps on the App Store will be available on the Mac App Store on Apple Silicon Macs" in https://developer.apple.com/support/ios-ipados-mac .

At this time, Big Sur is not released yet, so, it is still possible that the "Version x.x.x cannot be made available on Mac" message for iPhone-only apps might be a bug. In case this is just a bug, I've unchecked the checkboxes of Mac availability.


UPDATE Sep 25, 2020:
I did nothing but the message "Version x.x.x cannot be made available on Mac" has disappeared. So, I turned the availability on again.

user_40300650
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