mjtomlin

22july2013 said:

I have two questions: 

1. Is it theoretically possible using any virtualization software that I will be able to run two copies of Big Sur on the same Apple Silicon computer?
2. People talk about being able to run binaries for iOS/iPadOS on MacOS, because they are the same binaries, but does that also mean that I will be able to run macOS binaries on iPadOS (since it supports a mouse and keyboard)?

I haven't noticed anyone talking about these issues. But I may have missed it. These are important questions for me.

1. Yes. If Apple allows it.

2. No. It works not because they are the "same" binaries. But because macOS contains theUIKit APIs necessary to support iOS/iPadOS apps. For macOS applications to work on iPadOS, Apple would need to include all of AppKit in iPadOS - and that's too much baggage for a mobile OS to carry. Apple would prefer developers use SwiftUI for creating cross-device apps.

1. Rosetta is not emulation, it’s translation. It translates x64 code to ARMv8 code and hooks that translated code into native APIs. It cannot be used to emulate an x86 system.

2. At no point did Apple say they would disallow any kind of emulation.

3. It won’t be too long before someone develops an actual x86 hardware emulator. (See qemu.org) It is obviously something that will eventually be needed by many users.

kkqd1337 said:

I'm dubious of their claims. But i'm all for it if its true. I'll probably wait for M2 tho as I dont need anything right now.

Sarkany said:

Comparing mobile chips to the likes of 10900K...that is extremely laughable.

Perhaps you should read the Anandtech article. They claim the high performance CPU cores in the A14 are more powerful than anything Intel makes and is on par with AMD’s Zen3. That was the A14, not the M1, which they predict will be even more powerful simply because they can increase clock speed.

kkqd1337 said:

I'm dubious of their claims. But i'm all for it if its true. I'll probably wait for M2 tho as I dont need anything right now.

One thought I had....

if these chips are so amazing.... why are they not making servers? using them in data centres, thats where power per watt really matters isnt it?

Efficiency matters everywhere, not just in data centers. It allows you to push up performance without using more power and generating more heat. This is how and why the new MacBook Air does not need fan, but has 3x the performance as the Intel model.

john120165 said:

Im not seeing a reason to chose the more expensive 13" pro over the cheaper Air for a 200£ saving.
Both have this..

• Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU, 8‑core GPU and 16‑core Neural Engine
• 8GB unified memory
• 512GB SSD storage¹
• Retina display with True Tone
• Magic Keyboard
• Touch ID
• Force Touch trackpad
• Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports

The (cheaper) Air has only 7 GPU cores and it cannot sustain higher performance as long due to its passive cooling.