Apple has presented the first Intel-free Macs and claims that the SoC M1 will be compatible with millions of iOS apps, thanks to macOS Big Sur: will it be true?
A few hours after the presentation of the new Apple Macs without Intel, namely MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13 inches and Mac Mini all with SoC M1, many are asking two questions: how fast will they be and which apps will be compatible with the new chip. The answer to the first question will come soon: as soon as the first units are delivered to customers, who can test them. The answer to the second question, however, is much more complex.
The whole M1 operation (i.e. the transition to Apple Silicon chips, until yesterday known as A14X), in fact, was designed by Apple to unify development environments and allow software houses to create a single app that runs smoothly on all Apple hardware: iPhone, iPad and Mac/MacBook. Between saying and doing, however, there is a sea between the two, because for quite some time Apple will have to ensure the functioning of the old apps written for Intel architecture on the new Macs with ARM M1 architecture. A fare questo lavoro, dice Apple, ci penserà il sistema operativo macOS 11 Big Sur, che sarà rilasciato domani 12 novembre.
Stesse app su iPhone, iPad e nuovi Mac M1
Durante l’evento online di presentazione dei nuovi Mac con chip M1 Apple ha mostrato numerose testimonianze a dir poco entusiastiche da parte dei principali sviluppatori di software professionali per grafica, audio e video come Adobe e Cinema 4D.
Apple afferma che la coppia M1-Big Sur sarà il binomio perfetto per garantire le massime prestazioni alle app. Già a febbraio 2020 Apple ha iniziato a preparare il campo a questa rivoluzione introducendo le “Universal App“, che vanno sviluppate tramite la piattaforma Catalyst 2 e dovrebbero funzionare su tutto l’hardware di Apple. During the presentation of the new Macs, one was specifically mentioned, which is perhaps the most iconic of all: Adobe Photoshop 2021, which will arrive next year.
For older apps written for Intel, however, Apple has launched “Rosetta 2”, a kind of automatic code translator built into Big Sur that should allow these apps to run correctly even on the new Macs with M1 processor.
From Intel Mac to M1 Mac: everything easy?
The real reason for the switch from Intel processors to Apple Silicon is mainly simplification: a single platform, unique for the mobile world and for personal computers, on which to develop the best possible applications. The real doubt, then, is which iOS apps will be compatible with Apple Silicon processors from launch day.
From this point of view, unfortunately for Apple fans, things will not be as simple as Cupertino would like us to believe: Facebook, Google, Amazon and other big have already put their hands forward specifying that their apps work perfectly on iOS but may not be as perfect when running on a Mac with Silicon processor.
Same goes for Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Snapchat, Candy Crush, Among Us, Real Racing 3 apps: all these apps have already been labeled on the App Store as “Designed for iPad, not verified for macOS.”