Apple launched all-new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models powered by its in-house Apple M1 chip last month. And if you believe early reviews, Apple has knocked it out of the park with these new Mac devices. That said, software still has to catch up with hardware. Most Mac applications are designed for Intel’s x86 architecture and cannot run natively on new M1 Macs. So, before switching, you should check the app compatibility of your most used apps. Here’s how to 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 successfully completed two chipset transitions in the past. It is therefore not surprising that the company is also prepared for this new transition. Although Intel applications do not run natively on Apple M1 Macs, Apple has released an integrated translation layer called Rosetta 2, which allows users to run applications designed for Intel chips.
Although apps won’t run natively, all reports suggest that the Apple M1 chip is so powerful that in most applications you won’t see any performance difference. This is a great achievement for Apple and should by no means be taken lightly. The fact that Windows on ARM has been a spectacular failure so far shows just how much work Apple has put into this transition.
Still, if you use obscure or resource-intensive apps, you might run into issues. It is therefore best to check the compatibility of your favorite applications before investing in the new Apple M1 Macs. That said, let’s move on to our tutorial:
Check App Compatibility Before Buying Apple Mac M1
1. Visit this site, and you will see the list of applications compatible with Apple M1 Mac.
2. To see the compatibility of your favorite application, type their name in the search box.
3. Not only can you get app compatibility, but also you can see how incompatible apps work on Rosetta 2.
See the symbols marked in the picture above. It will tell you what the current running status of the apps is.
Check App Compatibility on Apple M1 Mac
If you’ve already purchased the Mac Apple M1 and want to see which apps run natively and which run on Rosetta 2, there’s an easy way to check the list.
1. Click here at download and install the “Silicon” application. It is a free and open source application, so you don’t have to pay.
2. Now launch the app and click “Open” to grant it permissions.
3. If there is an update pending, click “install” to update the app.
4. Now, click the “Start Scan” button. It will start scanning your app library to locate 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 compatible with Intel.
The screenshot below shows how it will look if you run it on an Apple M1 Mac. You will see some apps that are universal (can run natively on Intel and Apple M1 Macs) and some that are always Intel only.
Intel-only applications are those that run using the Rosetta 2 translation layer.
Check Apple M1 App Compatibility
We have mentioned two ways to check Apple M1 app compatibility in this article. The first method lets you decide whether to buy the Apple M1 Mac or not, based on the app compatibility. The second method is for people who have purchased an Apple M1 Mac before and want to see the list of apps that run on Rosetta 2. Hope you found this article informative. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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