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Transition to Apple silicon Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

Article ID = 254
Article Title = Transition to Apple silicon Frequently Asked Questions FAQ
Article Author(s) = Graham Needham (BH)
Article Created On = 23rd June 2020
Article Last Updated = 27th April 2023
Article URL = https://www.macstrategy.com/article.php?254

Article Brief Description:
Frequently Asked Questions about the transition to Apple silicon/processors/chips in their Mac range of computers

Transition to Apple processors Frequently Asked Questions

Apple officially announced at their WWDC online virtual event on 22nd June 2020 that they were going to transition to using their own hardware processors (which are ARM based) in their Mac range of computers instead of using Intel processors.
Q. Why is Apple transitioning to their own processors instead of using Intel's?
A. Apple stated that it is "to deliver industry-leading performance and powerful new technologies" that will "also establish a common architecture across all Apple products, making it far easier for developers to write and optimize their apps for the entire ecosystem", but there will also be the significant factors of "overall control", "costs" and "profit".
Q. When are the first Apple Mac computers being released with Apple's own processors?
A. Apple announced and launched the first Apple Silicon Macs on 10th November 2020. Macs that are available with Apple's own silicon include:
Q. Will all Apple Mac computers, including the Pro models, ultimately be upgraded to use Apple's own processors?
A. Yes. Apple stated that they aimed to "complete the transition in about two years" i.e. by the end of 2022. They did not attain this date but only the Mac Pro awaits an upgrade to Apple silicon as of April 2023.
Q. Will Intel's Thunderbolt technology be supported with new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Yes. The first Apple Silicon Macs announced on 10th November 2020 have Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C v4 ports (USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gbps).
Q. Will new Apple processor based Macs be cheaper than current models?
A. In some cases, yes. The Mac mini (2020 M1 model) announced on 10th November 2020 starts at US$699 with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage, whereas the previous Mac mini (2020 Intel model) with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage started at US$799.
Q. When can developers start building applications for Apple processor based Macs?
A. Immediately, from 22nd June 2020, using the newly announced Xcode 12 or later.
Q. What's the first version of macOS to support Apple processors?
A. macOS 11 Big Sur.
Q. Will macOS 11 / Apple Silicon Macs support virtual machines/environments e.g. via Parallels, Fusion and VirtualBox?
A. Yes, but…
  • If your Mac has an Intel processor you are able to virtualise Intel based versions of macOS, Linux and Windows as normal.
  • If your Mac has an Apple silicon processor you are able to virtualise Arm based versions of macOS 12 Monterey or later, some flavours of Linux and Windows†. You are not be able to virtualise the normal 32/64-bit version of Windows and you are not able to virtualise older versions of macOS prior to macOS 12 Monterey††.
† - Microsoft stated on 10th September 2021 that running an ARM version of Windows 11 on M1 Macs is "an unsupported scenario". As of 9th August 2022 Microsoft officially supports Windows 11 Arm with Parallels 18 or later.
NOTE: Some Windows applications can be run directly using Codeweaver's CrossOver - version 20.0.2 or later is supported on Apple Silicon Macs.
†† - Although you can virtualise older versions of macOS on macOS you can only install the version of macOS you are currently running so if you are running macOS 13 Ventura you can only install macOS 13 Ventura as a virtual machine - to virtualise macOS 12 Monterey on macOS 13 Ventura you need to create the macOS 12 Monterey virtual machine on macOS 12 Monterey on a different computer/partition and then move it to macOS 13 Ventura.
Q. What have Parallels said about virtualisation on Apple Silicon Macs?
A. On the 17th December 2020 Parallels released the first version of Parallels Desktop 16 for M1 Macs (supporting virtualisation of macOS).
A. On 14th April 2021 Parallels released version 16.5 of Parallels Desktop for M1 Macs (supporting virtualisation of macOS, Linux and Windows ARM version - see above).
A. On 9th August 2021 Parallels released version 17 of Parallels Desktop for M1 Macs (supporting virtualisation of macOS, Linux and Windows ARM version - see above).
A. On 9th August 2022 Parallels released version 18 of Parallels Desktop for M1/M2 Macs (supporting virtualisation of macOS, Linux and Windows ARM version - see above).
Q. What have VMware said about virtualisation on Apple Silicon Macs?
A. VMware tweeted on 10th November 2020 - "While we're not quite ready to announce our timeline, we're happy to say that we are committed to delivering VMware virtual machines on #AppleSilicon!".
A. VMware Fusion manager Michael Roy tweeted on 9th September 2021 that VMware Fusion was now available as a "Private Tech Preview" for M1 Macs.
Q. What have Microsoft said about virtualising Windows on Apple Silicon Macs?
A. In December 2020 Microsoft began offering a version of ARM based Windows through the Windows Insider Program - but note that there is currently no public version of ARM based Windows available to be purchased by consumers/businesses. Microsoft announced in a blog post on 30th September 2020 that they are working on getting Windows 10 running on ARM including x64 app emulation, so there is hope. Microsoft have a useful online FAQ about running the ARM version of Windows. MacWorld also posted a good article on 11th February 2021. On 9th August 2022 Parallels released version 18 of Parallels Desktop for M1/M2 Macs and this version officially supports running Windows 11 Arm version from Microsoft. Microsoft also officially supports this setup. Parallels made it really easy to download, install, and purchase/activate Windows 11 Arm version. We've even tested and used this ourselves and it is a quick and smooth process.
Q. Will macOS 11 / Apple Silicon Macs support running iOS/iPadOS apps?
A. Yes, but…
  • If your Mac has an Intel processor it cannot run iOS/iPadOS apps natively - however, developers can use Catalyst to prepare and make available their iOS/iPadOS apps as specific applications that can be downloaded and use on Intel Macs.
  • If your Mac has an Apple processor you will definitely be able to run iOS/iPadOS apps on your Mac - they will be available to download via the App Store
Q. Can I run any iOS/iPadOS app on an Apple Silicon Mac?
A. Yes, but the software developer has to make that app available via the Mac App Store to easily download it and install it. Otherwise you will need to use a third-party utility (like iMazing) to download the correct IPA file to run - even then, remember that app was originally designed for an iPhone/iPad with a touch screen so it may not work perfectly and Apple may put restrictions in place to prevent you doing this in the future. As of 15th January 2021 Apple has stopped this from working.
A. It has been reported that running App Store iOS apps requires that System Integrity Protection (SIP) is enabled.
Q. Will applications built for Macs with Apple processors work on older versions of macOS?
A. Developers can make their applications Universal 2 binary compliant. If the application is Universal 2 compliant it will run on older versions of macOS. If the application is built only for Apple processors it will only run on Macs that have Apple processors. Developers will usually offer one or more of the following options:
  • Software is only available as an Apple Silicon/Arm compatible version - it will only run on Apple Silicon Macintosh computers
  • Software is available as a single Universal 2 binary compliant version - it will run on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macintosh computers
  • Software is available separately as two different versions (usually separate downloads†) - Apple Silicon/Arm + Intel
  • Software is only available as an Intel Macintosh compatible version - it will only run on Intel Macintosh computers
NOTE: Installers/disk images tend to identify what they are:
  • "Universal" means it is a single Universal 2 binary compliant version - it will run on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macintosh computers
  • "silicon", "aarch64", "arm" means it is an Apple Silicon/Arm only compatible version - it will only run on Apple Silicon Macintosh computers
  • "intel", "64-bit", "i386", "x86", or "x86-64" means it is an Intel Macintosh compatible version - it will only run on Intel Macintosh computers
Q. Will applications built for Intel processors still work on new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Mostly, yes. Apple has created a new Rosetta 2 technology that allows for Mac Intel based applications to run on Apple processor based Macs - older, plain vanilla applications (but not too old as to be 32-bit) should run. But not all applications will run:
  • Lyman T on MacInTouch [link no longer works] clarifies with, "anything that uses modern Vectors (AVX, AVX2, and AVX512) or Intel's new ML instructions won't work [with Rosetta 2]. Also anything that was to run inside the kernel won't (some low level driver extensions). So some very new applications and probably some very old (with little or no current maintenance) kernel stuff won't."
  • Non-Mac App Store applications have to be code signed.
Q. Do I have to do anything special to get applications built for Intel processors to run on new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Not particularly, but note, that on the very first launch of any application that requires Rosetta, macOS will prompt you with a "Software Update" window asking you "To open "App", you need to install Rosetta. Do you want to install it now?" - you can click "Not Now" or "Install". Once Rosetta has been installed, on first launch of each individual Intel application, Apple Silicon Macs will translate (via Rosetta) the application on the fly and then load it into memory. For larger applications e.g. Microsoft Office applications, this process could take some time i.e. 15-30 seconds, so you will get a bouncing Dock icon for a while and then the application will run. This process only happens on the first launch of each individual Intel application but if you restart your computer, this first launch process will happen again.
Q. Will plug-ins work on new Apple processor based Macs?
A. This can affect creative users especially those involved in graphics, video and music. As before with previous transitions, old plug-ins may not work in native or Universal 2 binary compliant applications on Apple processor based Macs - they may have to be updated to work properly. Apple has stated "With the translation technology of Rosetta 2, users will be able to run existing Mac apps that have not yet been updated, including those with plug-ins", so it remains to be seen how well Rosetta 2 copes with these technologies.
Q. If I have a Universal 2 binary compliant application but still need to run the Intel version via Rosetta 2 to use old plug-ins, is there a way to do this?
A. Yes. Locate the Application in the Finder > go to File menu > Get Info > TICK the "Open using Rosetta" box.
Q. How can I tell if an application is 32-bit, 64-bit, Intel, Universal 2 Binary or Apple Silicon only?
A. We recommend using Uni Detector which is free on the Mac App Store Buy it now on the Mac App Store
Q. Will Serif's application suite be made compatible with new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Yes. Serif announced and launched Apple Silicon compatible universal 2 binary versions of all three applications on 13th November 2020 one day after macOS 11 Big Sur was made available!
Q. Will Microsoft Office be made compatible with new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Yes - on 15th December 2020 Microsoft announced Universal 2 Binary (Apple Silicon) updates (with a couple of limitations including Power Query in Excel) were made available through Microsoft's usual update channels. On 13th January 2022 Microsoft released Office v16.57 (Build 22011101) updates which included an Apple Silicon native version of Power Query in Excel (macOS 10.15 or later required). On 28th February 2022 Microsoft announced Apple Silicon support for OneDrive sync and Folder Backup (Known Folder Move).
Q. Will Adobe Creative Cloud be made compatible with new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Yes. Apple previewed Adobe Photoshop running at their WWDC online virtual event on 22nd June 2020. On 8th December 2020 Adobe made the Lightroom 4.1 update available which is a Universal 2 Binary application (and also supports the new Apple ProRAW format of the iPhone 12 Pro / 12 Pro Max). On 10th March 2021 Adobe released the Photoshop 22.3 update which included preliminary support for Apple Silicon but with some specific differences and limitations. On 8th June 2021 Adobe released Illustrator and InDesign updates to natively support Apple Silicon. On 20th July 2021 Adobe released a Premiere Pro update to natively support Apple Silicon.
NOTE: Apple Silicon Macs can only run Adobe Creative Cloud 2021 or newer. You cannot install older versions of the Creative Cloud applications - Adobe deliberately block you from doing this.
Q. Is anyone keeping track of applications that are compatible with the new Apple processor based Macs?
A. Yes - there's an Is Apple silicon ready? web site.
Q. Are there specifically different ways of doing some things on the new Apple processor based Macs compared to the older Intel based Macs?
A. Yes - there's a good article on MacWorld's web site. Some of those key differences along with additional points are listed here:
  • Starting up in Recovery Mode - when turning on an Apple Silicon Mac hold the power button down
  • Internet Recovery Mode is no longer supported
  • Apple Silicon Macs do not have a System Management Controller (SMC) so this cannot be reset - apparently, just restarting or shutting down the computer is enough to do this.
  • Setting a Firmware Password is no longer supported
  • Startup Security (for the boot volume) can no longer be set to "No Security"
  • Starting up from an external drive can no longer be done from System Preferences > Startup - instead you now use Recovery Mode to get to the boot manager options
  • Booting up in Safe Mode must now be done from the Recovery Mode boot manager
  • Booting up in Apple Diagnostics Mode must now be done from the Recovery Mode using Command + D
  • Target Disk Mode is no longer supported - instead you may be able to use the new Disk Sharing Mode while in Recovery Mode
  • There is a dedicated, secure recovery area on the internal storage - if this becomes damaged/corrupted/deleted/inaccessible for any reason (for example, a power failure during a macOS upgrade), you may not be able to revive/restore the computer by itself - you will need another Mac with USB-C, a USB-C data cable and the Apple Configurator software installed on the second Mac!
Q. How do I use Mac Sharing Mode?
A. Connect both Macs with a USB-C or a Thunderbolt cable > boot to macOS recovery > select Options > Utilities > Share volume > you can then transfer data - you will need to authenticate with an admin account/SecureToken User that is on the host Mac.

Article Keywords: macOS 1100 1200 1300 1400 Big Sur Monterey Ventura Sonoma transition to Apple silicon processor chips SoCs Intel ARM Universal Binary 2 Universal2 Rosetta 2 backwards compatibility Rosetta2 Mac Macintosh Pro computers M1 M2 Max Ultra

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