AutoCAD gets native Apple Silicon support, boasts 2x speed jump
Engineering and design tool AutoCAD by Autodesk gains native support for Apple Silicon M-series processors in the 2024 release.
![A MacBook Air with M2 processor](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/53709-107991-M2-MBA-closed-xl.jpg)
A MacBook Air with M2 processor
AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are the latest professional apps to gain native support for Apple Silicon. This translates to faster load and render times throughout the app.
According to a press release from Autodesk, the Apple Silicon support is for both M1 and M2 series processors. The AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT apps still support Intel as well, but the Apple Silicon versions boast up to 2x performance improvements over the 2023 version.
"AutoCAD for Mac 2024 and AutoCAD LT for Mac 2024 deliver incredible, new performance improvements with the ability to run AutoCAD natively on Apple silicon," says Dania El Hassan, Director of Product Management for AutoCAD, Autodesk. "It's exciting to see how customers can now take full advantage of the latest hardware and M-series chips for faster ways to work."
AutoCAD for Mac 2024 costs $245 per month or $1,955 per year. The cheaper AutoCAD LT for Mac 2024 runs $60 per month or $485 per year. Autodesk offers a 30-day free trial for new customers.
Read on AppleInsider
![A MacBook Air with M2 processor](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/53709-107991-M2-MBA-closed-xl.jpg)
A MacBook Air with M2 processor
AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are the latest professional apps to gain native support for Apple Silicon. This translates to faster load and render times throughout the app.
According to a press release from Autodesk, the Apple Silicon support is for both M1 and M2 series processors. The AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT apps still support Intel as well, but the Apple Silicon versions boast up to 2x performance improvements over the 2023 version.
"AutoCAD for Mac 2024 and AutoCAD LT for Mac 2024 deliver incredible, new performance improvements with the ability to run AutoCAD natively on Apple silicon," says Dania El Hassan, Director of Product Management for AutoCAD, Autodesk. "It's exciting to see how customers can now take full advantage of the latest hardware and M-series chips for faster ways to work."
AutoCAD for Mac 2024 costs $245 per month or $1,955 per year. The cheaper AutoCAD LT for Mac 2024 runs $60 per month or $485 per year. Autodesk offers a 30-day free trial for new customers.
Read on AppleInsider
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Comments
now for solidworks and Siemens NX.
Then there is this;
https://machow2.com/inventor-for-mac/
Requires Parallels...
https://machow2.com/run-solidworks-mac/
I was a SolidWorks user in the past, and I would assume that Parallels would work fine, but I would want to be confident that there wouldn't be issues.
Windows 11 and Parallels Desktop
Parallels® Desktop version 18 is an authorized solution for running Arm® versions of Windows 11 Pro and Windows 11 Enterprise in a virtual environment on its platform on Apple M1 and M2 computers.
The Arm version of Windows 11 has limitations that can impact your ability to use various types of hardware, games, and apps, including those that rely on DirectX 12 or OpenGL3.3 or greater. For more information, please see the FAQ in this article.
strange thing cad programs are like word processing programs. Once you have experience on one, takes hardly anytime to learn another. The exception to that rule is learning Revit combined with Windows ribbons is a Bim abomination.
https://www.nemetschek.com/en/brand/bluebeam
https://support.bluebeam.com/articles/revu-for-mac-end-of-life-eol-announcement/
Like so much software has the default position of growth at all costs with new features that add complexity (and bugs) beyond debatable efficacy and the tightening of licensing financials on (significantly invested) customers with migrations to subscriptions inverted the cost-benefit equation for design professionals...?
On the mac have the annual (since 2011) 'upgrade' cycles also had an effect on overhead burden ? By way of example migrating a 10 year old file from a client to do some additional work...
There were better options then and there are better options now.
Has AutoCAD even improved I still see a lot of flat lifeless drawings and design coming from people who use it?