When using an M1 Mac you’ll find it will always prefer to run arm64 instructions on Apple silicon. Rosetta can also translate dynamic code or JavaScript on the fly. However, the translation process takes time, so users might perceive that translated apps launch or run more slowly at times,” Apple explains. When translation finishes, the system launches the translated executable in place of the original. “If an executable contains only Intel instructions, macOS automatically launches Rosetta and begins the translation process. What is the translation process, exactly? It is not a substitute for creating a native version of your app.” “Rosetta is meant to ease the transition to Apple silicon, giving you time to create a universal binary for your app. “Rosetta is a translation process that allows users to run apps that contain x86-64 instructions on Apple silicon,” its developer page reads. The entire process takes place in the background, and while it may impact performance a little, early reports suggest the performance boost of moving to the M1 chip more than makes up for this. That need to translate on first run means the apps may initially launch a little more slowly than normal (up to 20 seconds, in some cases), but you won’t experience the same delay the next time you run the application. There are also some apps (including Microsoft Office apps) that are translated the first time you run them. In short, it translates apps built for Intel so they will run on Apple Silicon. Rosetta 2 is an emulator designed to bridge the transition between Intel and Apple processors. M1-powered Macs can run native, universal (in which the installer carries code for both Intel and Apple chips) and Intel apps.Īpple is encouraging developers to release universal apps where possible and is making it possible to run Intel apps on Apple silicon using emulation technology called Rosetta 2.

That said, applications are built to run on specific processors, and not every developer has done all the work necessary to make their apps run natively on Apple Silicon Macs.

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