It's time for another chipset transition for the Mac, this time from Intel to ARM. The rumors continue to escalate around this potential future for the Mac line, and may see software and hardware announcements soon. An ARM Mac is inevitable, but the question is, when?
Mar 21, 2019 First, let's talk about the productivity essentials for getting work done on the Mac. At the top of the list is Office 365. While you can certainly use Google's apps (and I often do), for any. Jul 04, 2020 Unclutter is a basic piece of software that suits its name. The app is accessible with a quick swipe from the top of your screen, and, better yet, functions as.
● Apple designed chipset
● New ARM friendly macOS
● Based on existing A-series processors
● Software already exists
● Control over entire stack
● Leave legacy software behind
● Transition likely smoothed by existing hardware
● New ARM friendly macOS
● Based on existing A-series processors
● Software already exists
● Control over entire stack
● Leave legacy software behind
● Transition likely smoothed by existing hardware
Software shifts and hardware transitions are nothing new to Apple, and we are about to see another huge shift in how they approach consumer technology. Until now, the Mac has relied on innovation and development from Intel to move forward, but with the ARM Mac, Apple will have total control.
Apple produces its own ARM chipsets for iPhone and iPad, and may do the same for its ARM Mac
Rumors have circulated for a few years now about the potential of an ARM-based Mac. With the introduction of the iPad Pro and continued year-over-year improvements to Apple’s A-series chipsets, an ARM Mac feels almost inevitable.
The past decade has been bumpy for Mac users. Apple has had its own host of issues with designs they introduced, like the butterfly keyboard and cylindrical Mac Pro, but much of what has been holding back the Mac falls on Intel.
Since 2015 Intel has seen marginal improvements in their chipset capabilities and relied upon increased clock speeds and more demands on cooling than actual processor gains. This left Apple with little room to move when it came to innovating on the Mac platform.
Apple even had to implement custom silicon in their Macs to run in tandem with the Intel processors, thus taking some of the load off of the Intel processes.
The T1 was Apple’s first ARM chip in a Mac; used for improved security
If Apple controlled the development of all the hardware and software in Mac, just as it has with the iPhone and iPad, then we would see much greater leaps in performance over time. This would allow more room for innovations in design and add in additional use cases and hardware.
Since the release of macOS Catalina, we have seen a slow trickle of Mac Catalyst apps. These are apps designed for iPad that have been formatted to work on Macs with macOS system architecture and Intel chipsets.
While Catalyst has yet to prove a great hit with developers, it lays the groundwork necessary for them to start programming iPad apps as if they were running in a macOS environment.
It is safe to assume that Mac Catalyst developed iPad apps will be easily transitioned, if not directly portable, to an ARM Mac. Catalyst also shows that Apple is capable and learning about making it easy to implement developer tools for transitions between platforms.
Do not be surprised if we see a “Mac Catalyst ARM edition” of some kind very soon.
Perhaps the most crucial development surrounding software for the ARM Mac is SwiftUI. This new language is universal and can easily be used for any Apple Platform during development.
In 2005, late Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced that the Mac would transition to Intel from PowerPC over a year starting in 2006. The entire Mac line transitioned to Intel processors in 2006, first ones in January, and the last in August. Mac OS X Snow Leopard launched in 2009 as Intel only.
Steve Jobs unveiling the NeXT computer, says system architectures shift every decade
To move the entirety of the Mac platform for millions of users, minuscule by today's user base, to a new system architecture with minimal issues was an incredible feat. It is impossible to determine the speed at which Apple will move Mac to ARM, but for everyday users, the transition will likely be invisible.
Today's ARM chipsets can already handle most tasks an average user performs, and not having compatibility with Windows shouldn’t be an issue in a world where most data is in the cloud anyway. We do not know what kind of performance an Apple-designed “desktop-class” ARM chipset will produce, but it may be a few generations before the Mac Pro can kick Intel entirely. Lesser Macs meant for consumers and professionals who are not mapping star systems or making a Pixar movie will likely be just fine with ARM.
The iPad Pro with the A12X chipset operates better than many consumer PCs and laptops, how will the ARM Mac perform?
Apple tends to be obsessive about consistency across a platform. It is hard to imagine Apple having their entire product line from iPod to iMac running on ARM and having one single Mac on Intel. This would lead to software compatibility issues and development forks in professional-grade tools.
Even with the entire line shifting to ARM, leaving the Mac Pro as is during the transition will work fine. When you do see a Mac Pro with Apple ARM inside, expect macOS to deprecate Intel Macs soon after.
Unless you are a professional who needs to run Windows and macOS on the same machine, or have very specific software that won't update to the new ARM architecture for a few years, you won't even notice this is happening. The biggest change for more casual users will be the lockdown of compatible software.
All of the software a user downloads from the web assumes they are working on a Mac or PC running Intel. This means when you buy an ARM Mac, you will not be downloading any of that software, which might be frustrating for users. iPad and iPhone cannot download apps from the web, and the same could easily occur for the ARM Mac.
The MacBook Air is a great candidate to become an ARM Mac since its small size restricts it from more powerful chipsets
Since macOS has a bit more control over software installation, Apple will likely enable settings for users to install compatible applications from the web. It will be up to third-party developers to make their software compatible, however, and could mean a minimal third-party software for some time after launch.
If Apple is serious about an ARM transition, it will have to be behind developers all the way, and incentivize them to develop apps quickly.
If Apple restricts Mac software to the Mac App Store or makes it very hard to install from anywhere else, developers will need to offer their apps through official Apple channels. Otherwise, Apple could alienate popular developers and thus lose customers to Windows because of a lack of compatible software.
Another issue that is easily solved with licensing is Thunderbolt. Intel owns the rights to Thunderbolt and includes the necessary I/O for the ports in the Intel chipsets. Unless Apple comes up with its own version of Thunderbolt without violating patents, Apple will likely still be in business with Intel in some capacity.
Essential Mac Software For Developers Mac
Rumors point to the fall of 2020 for the first ARM Mac. The now-defunct 12-inch MacBook would make the perfect candidate for the first Mac with Apple ARM inside. Some speculate a return to the “iBook” branding for such a device since it would essentially be a MacBook running on iPad chipsets.
Reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggests a spring 2021 launch is more likely, repeatedly. Whichever is true, WWDC 2020 is the last chance for Apple to talk directly to developers about such a transition before it occurs, if it occurs before next year's WWDC.
To complicate things even further, WWDC will be held remotely via the internet in 2020 amid coronavirus concerns, making the transition announcement somewhat cumbersome as no developers will be physically present.
A developer transition kit is needed, and software too, because the hardware cannot launch without any software. It is likely that an official announcement from Apple is not far off. One Twitter leaker suggests there is a 12-inch device in development at this moment, and another leaker has since followed up stating the 12-inch ARM MacBook could be the first such product.
Another rumor corroborated the existence of a device, suggesting an ARM Mac laptop of some kind would be seen sometime in 2021. This device would host a version of the upcoming A14 chipset that is slated for the 'iPhone 12.'
Just before WWDC, Kuo released another note stating there would be an ARM MacBook by the end of 2020, with a 24-inch ARM iMac to follow.
The OS X operating system combines a stable core with advanced technologies to help you deliver world-class products on the Mac platform. Knowing what these technologies are, and how to use them, can help streamline your development process, while giving you access to key OS X features.
At a Glance
This guide introduces you to the range of possibilities for developing Mac software, describes the many technologies you can use for software development, and points you to sources of information about those technologies. It does not describe user-level system features or features that have no impact on software development.
OS X Has a Layered Architecture with Key Technologies in Each Layer
It’s helpful to view the implementation of OS X as a set of layers. The lower layers of the system provide the fundamental services on which all software relies. Subsequent layers contain more sophisticated services and technologies that build on (or complement) the layers below.
The lower the layer a technology is in, the more specialized are the services it provides. Generally, technologies in higher layers incorporate lower-level technologies to provide common app behaviors. A good rule of thumb is to use the highest-level programming interface that meets the goals of your app. Here is a brief summary of the layers of OS X.
- The Cocoa (Application) layer includes technologies for building an app’s user interface, for responding to user events, and for managing app behavior.
- The Media layer encompasses specialized technologies for playing, recording, and editing audiovisual media and for rendering and animating 2D and 3D graphics.
- The Core Services layer contains many fundamental services and technologies that range from Automatic Reference Counting and low-level network communication to string manipulation and data formatting.
- The Core OS layer defines programming interfaces that are related to hardware and networking, including interfaces for running high-performance computation tasks on a computer’s CPU and GPU.
- The Kernel and Device Drivers layer consists of the Mach kernel environment, device drivers, BSD library functions (
libSystem
), and other low-level components. The layer includes support for file systems, networking, security, interprocess communication, programming languages, device drivers, and extensions to the kernel.
Relevant Chapters:Cocoa Application Layer, Media Layer, Core Services Layer, Core OS Layer, Kernel and Device Drivers Layer
You Can Create Many Different Kinds of Software for Mac
Using the developer tools and system frameworks, you can develop a wide variety of software for Mac, including the following:
- Apps. Apps help users accomplish tasks that range from creating content and managing data to connecting with others and having fun. OS X provides a wealth of system technologies such as app extensions and handoff, that you use to extend the capabilities of your apps and enhance the experience of your users.
- Frameworks and libraries. Frameworks and libraries enable code sharing among apps.
- Command-line tools and daemons. Command-line tools allow sophisticated users to manipulate data in the command-line environment of the Terminal app. Daemons typically run continuously and act as servers for processing client requests.
- App plug-ins and loadable bundles. Plug-ins extend the capabilities of other apps; bundles contain code and resources that apps can dynamically load at runtime.
- System plug-ins. System plug-ins, such as audio units, kernel extensions, I/O Kit device drivers, preference panes, Spotlight importers, and screen savers, extend the capabilities of the system.
Relevant Chapter:Creating Software Products for the Mac Platform
When Porting a Cocoa Touch App, Be Aware of API Similarities and Differences
The technology stacks on which Cocoa and Cocoa Touch apps are based have many similarities. Some system frameworks are identical (or nearly identical) in each platform, including Foundation, Core Data, and AV Foundation. This commonality of API makes some migration tasks—for example, porting the data model of your Cocoa Touch app—easy.
Other migration tasks are more challenging because they depend on frameworks that reflect the differences between the platforms. For example, porting controller objects and revising the user interface are more demanding tasks because they depend on AppKit and UIKit, which are the primary app frameworks in the Cocoa and CocoaTouch layers, respectively.
Mac Essentials Guide
See Also
Apple provides developer tools and additional information that support your development efforts.
Xcode, Apple’s integrated development environment, helps you design, create, debug, and optimize your software. You can download Xcode from the Mac App Store.
For an overview of the developer tools for OS X, see the Xcode Apple Developer webpage. For an overview Xcode functionality, read Xcode Overview.
The OS X Developer Library contains the documentation, sample code, tutorials, and other information you need to write OS X apps. You can access the OS X Developer Library from the Apple Developer website or from Xcode. In Xcode, choose Help > Documentation and API Reference to view documents and other resources in the Organizer window.
In addition to the OS X Developer Library, there are other sources of information on developing different types of software for Mac:
- Apple Open Source. Apple makes major components of OS X—including the UNIX core—available to the developer community. To learn about Apple’s commitment to Open Source development, visit Open Source Development Resources. To learn more about some specific Open Source projects, such as Bonjour and WebKit, visit Mac OS Forge.
- BSD. Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) is an essential UNIX-based part of the OS X kernel environment. Several excellent books on BSD and UNIX are available in bookstores. But you can also find additional information on any of the websites that cover BSD variants—for example, The FreeBSD Project.
- Third-party books. Several excellent books on Mac app development can be found online and in the technical sections of bookstores.
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