Raycast, the Mac app launcher, is officially being ported to iPhone and iPad (and Windows). The popular tool for developers and other power users has been exclusively available on Mac until now, but it’s coming to iPhone soon. If you’re interested, there’s already a waitlist for early beta access.
What is Raycast?
Raycast, founded in 2020 by former Facebook employees Thomas Paul Mann and Petr Nikolaev, aims to make developers’ work easier by optimizing the management of multiple tools. Inspired by the command line, the platform automates everyday tasks and speeds up the search and update of information using keyboard shortcuts. Raycast on Mac allows for quick actions like managing Jira tickets, merging GitHub requests, or editing files, drawing inspiration from tools such as Superhuman And Order. It is a developer-oriented version of Apple’s Spotlight search.
An expected, but complex port
David Pierce of The Verge interviewed CEO and co-founder Thomas Paul Mann. Mann mentioned that the Windows app will work very similarly to the Mac version, but that the iOS version will be a bigger challenge. That’s because Apple has designed its mobile operating system to be much more secure and compartmentalized, which impacts what Raycast will do. Still, the Raycast team can leverage various APIs and technologies to offer similar tools.
You want to be integrated into the system on a global scale, but there are few ways to achieve this. You have to be creative.
As a result, the company envisions Raycast for iOS as more of a companion app than a full-fledged launcher, and Mann says the mobile app will likely be more visual and proactive, rather than just a multi-function text box like on the Mac.
For example, integrating application intents (App Intents) and the app Shortcutsalong with powerful widgets, could bring some of the expected features of Raycast to iPhone.
The release is scheduled for 2025, but you can already sign up for the waiting list to access the TestFlight version from the official website. According to the latter, invitations to the beta will be sent throughout the end of 2024. With a $30 million Series B fundraisingin any case they have the means to achieve their ambitions.
