Last month, Apple launched brand new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models powered by its own Apple M1 chip. And if you look at the initial reviews, Apple has knocked it out of the park with these new Mac devices. However, the software still needs to catch up with the hardware. Most Mac applications are designed for Intel’s x86 architecture and cannot run natively on the new M1 Macs. Therefore, you should check the app compatibility of the apps you use the most before switching. Here’s how you can check Apple M1 compatibility for your Mac apps.
Check Apple M1 Compatibility for Your Mac Apps
This isn’t Apple’s first rodeo. It has already made two chipset transitions in the past. So it’s not surprising that the company is also ready for this new transition. Although Intel applications do not run natively on Apple M1 Macs, Apple has released a built-in translation layer called Rosetta 2This allows users to run applications designed for Intel chips.
While apps don’t run natively, all reports suggest that the Apple M1 chip is so powerful, you won’t see any performance difference in most apps. This is a huge achievement for Apple and should not be taken lightly. The fact that Windows on ARM has been a phenomenal failure thus far shows how much effort Apple has put into this transition.
However, if you use some obscure or resource-intensive applications, you may run into some issues. That’s why you’d better check compatibility of your favorite apps before investing in the new Apple M1 Macs. Having said all that, let’s move on to our tutorial:
Check App Compatibility Before Buying Apple M1 Mac
one. visit this websiteand you will see the list of apps compatible with Apple M1 Mac.
2. To see your favorite app’s compatibility, type your name in the search field.
3. You can not only get app compatibility, but also see how incompatible apps work in Rosetta 2.
See the symbols marked in the picture above. It will tell you what is the current working state of the apps.
Check Compatible App on Apple M1 Mac
If you’ve already bought the Apple M1 Mac and want to see which apps are running locally and which are running in Rosetta 2, there’s an easy way to view the list.
one. Click here with Download and install the “Silicon” app. It is a free and open source application, so you do not need to pay.
2. Now start the application and click “Open” to give permission.
3. If there is an update pending, click “install” to update the application.
4. Now, Click the “Start Scan” button. It will start scanning your Apps library to find all apps.
5. Since I’m on an old Intel Mac that doesn’t run any universal apps, you can see that all apps are only Intel compatible.
The screenshot below shows what it will look like if you’re running it on an Apple M1 Mac. You’ll see some apps that are universal (which can run natively on both Intel and Apple M1 Macs) and some that are Intel-only.
Intel-only applications are applications that run using the Rosetta 2 translation layer.
Check Apple M1 App Compatibility
In this article, we have mentioned two ways to check Apple M1 app compatibility. The first method lets you decide whether to buy the Apple M1 Mac based on app compatibility. The second method is for those who have previously purchased an Apple M1 Mac and want to see the list of apps running on Rosetta 2. I hope you found this article informative. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
