Based on internal code that is shared between recent iOS 14.4 beta versions and macOS Big Sur 11.2, Apple is implementing a new system that will block some iOS apps from running on the Mac. This, of course, will not affect the apps available on the Mac App Store.
Instead, this should prevent users from installing iOS apps that the developer has chosen not to offer on the Mac App Store for M1 Macs. In current versions of macOS, you can manually install iOS apps like Netflix, Instagram, and Facebook on an M1 Mac by using their respective IPA files downloaded under a valid Apple ID.
Update: At least for now, macOS Big Sur 11.1 beta 2 still lets users sideload unsupported iOS apps on M1 Macs.
This application cannot be installed because the developer did not intend for it to run on this platform.
So far, Apple hasn’t confirmed this change for developers. Major developers have chosen not to have their iOS apps on Mac App Store, either because of sales strategy or because the apps haven’t yet been optimized to run on a computer with mouse and keyboard controls.
We’ll keep this post updated with any other changes found in macOS regarding this new restriction.
