Apple yesterday released its first Macs based on the Arm architecture. This is not the first time Apple has changed the command base, but it is almost 15 years since the last time. What does changing the set of instructions mean in practice from the point of view of applications?

Apple’s latest version of macOS, Big Sur, is naturally optimized for the company’s new M1 system circuit and Arm architecture. According to the company, its Safari browser runs JavaScript on the M1 at 1.5 times the speed of the previous version of Safari and the x 86 processor and is about 1.9 times more responsive. However, native applications are only a small part of the whole.

For third-party applications, Apple is offering new Universal Apps that package the x 86 and Arm versions of the application in the same package. In this case, the applications will run natively on both platforms for a transitional period and as long as Apple wants to support x 86 processors. However, the change won’t happen in a day, and Adobe, for example, has said its first Universal Apps will be a version of Lightroom to be released in December, but other apps won’t follow until next year.

The biggest possible stumbling block in the transition will be the Rosetta 2. The Rosetta is an emulation layer that allows x 86 applications to be run on the Arm processor. Apple gave virtually no detail about Rosetta’s performance, although it praised some applications running on the M1 even faster than similar Intel Macs, thanks to a faster integrated graphics driver. It is known that, for example, the Microsoft Office family will initially operate through Rosetta, although the company is preparing a version of the Universal App in the background. Only external tests will reveal whether Rosetta’s performance in applications is adequate.

The last trick in Apple’s pocket for the transition and into the future is the compatibility of macOS with iOS apps. This brings the full range of games and apps from the AppStore to Mac users, which is undoubtedly considered a major competitive advantage by at least some users.Source: Apple