Beyond Rosetta 2 for Intel apps, 'Apple Silicon' Macs will run iPhone, iPad apps natively

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited August 2020
Apple isn't just allowing for Intel apps to run after a modification at install, but additionally, Apple's shift to its own proprietary silicon will allow Macs to run iOS and iPadOS apps natively.

Credit: Apple
Credit: Apple


Because the first of Apple's ARM Mac devices will run Apple Silicon chips, apps that were developed for iPhone or iPad chips will run natively on them -- without the need for developers to recompile code.

During Apple's WWDC 2020 keynote, Apple VP Andreas Wendker showed off iOS apps like Monument Valley, Fender Play and Calm running smoothly on a development Mac running macOS Big Sur. Those apps will be available straight from the Mac App Store.

The native iPhone and iPad apps on Mac are just part of the wide ecosystem of software that ARM Macs will be able to run, Apple said.

Through Rosetta 2, ARM Macs will be able to run programs written for Intel-based Macs. New virtualization software will allow those Macs to run other operating systems like Linux.

The Cupertino tech giant will release the first Mac with custom chips by the end of 2020, while it expects the overall transition to ARM will complete in about two years.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    macky the mackymacky the macky Posts: 4,801member
    What does Apple mean when they say, “ expects the overall transition to ARM will complete in about two years.”

    Are they meaning that all apps will be native, or that they will have it figured out in two years?
    williamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 11
    hattighattig Posts: 860member
    Under two years for all Mac hardware to be based on ARM.

    Two years includes breathing space in case of issues. Apple likes to beat their deadlines.

    Expect most of the hardware line on "Apple Silicon" by the end of next year. Maybe a Mac Pro or something will remain on Intel for a few more months.

    grayfox691jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 11
    grayfox691grayfox691 Posts: 27member
    What I find most exciting is a two year transition road map means architectures are pretty much sorted for all the Macs in the line up. Given we can't get any solid ideas on what the processors will look like Im genuinely excited to see what kind of monsters apple will be building for their high end iMacs and Mac Pros. I can only assume Apple will want to come out swinging so I'll be quite excited to see what a tare down of these chips will look like.
    fastasleepwatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    If I could run all of my iPhone and iPad apps on a new iMac or MacBook Pro, I think I might be convinced to finally get a new computer.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 11
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    Because the first of Apple's ARM Mac devices will run A-series chips

    We don’t know that. What we know is that “Apple Silicon“ will be compatible with A-Series SoCs. Apple even mentioned that they developed a “Mac”-series of SoCs.
    edited June 2020 watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 11
    mjtomlinmjtomlin Posts: 2,673member
    macky the macky said:
    What does Apple mean when they say, “ expects the overall transition to ARM will complete in about two years.”

    Are they meaning that all apps will be native, or that they will have it figured out in two years?

    It basically means they are giving themselves two years to move all their Macs off Intel and onto Apple Silicon. The mini will probably be the first to make the transition, followed by the Mac Book, and then the iMac.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 11
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    mjtomlin said:
    macky the macky said:
    What does Apple mean when they say, “ expects the overall transition to ARM will complete in about two years.”

    Are they meaning that all apps will be native, or that they will have it figured out in two years?

    It basically means they are giving themselves two years to move all their Macs off Intel and onto Apple Silicon. The mini will probably be the first to make the transition, followed by the Mac Book, and then the iMac.
    Yeah, no-one picked the mini. It was all iMac or some kind of MacBook.

    Of course, there's no guarantee the first consumer available ARM Mac will be a mini, it could still be the MBP or the iMac, but if they already have the mini hardware...
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    frantisekfrantisek Posts: 756member
    Is there any chance that Rosetta could be both ways? virtualize ARM on Intel as well so Intel Macs get at least some iPhone apps running as well?

    Aren't those constant switches wa to kill all the great freeware apps?  How many those developers have resources to constantly update apps?

    There was one great browser.... it had so wast collection of add-ons I was relying on. But constant changes in code killed all of them. So on Mac I dropped Firefox as having little to no real advantage. 
  • Reply 9 of 11
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    mjtomlin said:
    macky the macky said:
    What does Apple mean when they say, “ expects the overall transition to ARM will complete in about two years.”

    Are they meaning that all apps will be native, or that they will have it figured out in two years?

    It basically means they are giving themselves two years to move all their Macs off Intel and onto Apple Silicon. The mini will probably be the first to make the transition, followed by the Mac Book, and then the iMac.
    In the PPC->Intel transition Apple let Rosetta and Universal Binaries run for about two years before killing them off. Developers who refused to move to Intel were then up a creek along with users who wouldn't budge. Like last time there will be users and developers who won't update their software until they are forced to, and they screamed bloody murder much like those who find out their 32 bits apps are dead on Catalina. 
    williamlondonwatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 11
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,700member
    macky the macky said:
    What does Apple mean when they say, “ expects the overall transition to ARM will complete in about two years.”

    Are they meaning that all apps will be native, or that they will have it figured out in two years?
    I'm guessing it means that all Macs in Apple's lineup will be powered by Apple's Custom Silicon
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 11
    canukstormcanukstorm Posts: 2,700member
    hattig said:
    Under two years for all Mac hardware to be based on ARM.

    Two years includes breathing space in case of issues. Apple likes to beat their deadlines.

    Expect most of the hardware line on "Apple Silicon" by the end of next year. Maybe a Mac Pro or something will remain on Intel for a few more months.

    That sounds overly ambitious.
    williamlondon
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