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?
Jul 09, 2020 Fujifilm has released its software for Mac that enables its X-series mirrorless cameras to be used as high-quality webcams. The Fujifilm X Webcam tool.
● 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
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
macOS Mojave updates improve the stability, performance, or compatibility of your Mac and are recommended for all Mojave users. To get these updates, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu , then click Software Update. Learn more about updating the software on your Mac.
For details about the security content of these updates, see Apple Security Updates.
macOS Mojave 10.14.6
This update:
- Makes downloaded issues available in the My Magazines section of Apple News+, both online and offline.
- Adds all publications in Apple News+, including newspapers, to the catalog at the top of the News+ feed.
- Adds the ability to clear downloaded magazine issues in Apple News+ by choosing History > Clear > Clear All.
- Addresses an issue which prevents creation of a new Boot Camp partition on iMac and Mac mini with Fusion Drive.
- Resolves an issue that may cause a hang during a restart.
- Resolves a graphics issue that may occur when waking from sleep.
- Fixes an issue that may cause fullscreen video to appear black on Mac mini.
- Improves file-sharing reliability over SMB.
Enterprise content:
- Addresses an issue where file-sharing connections would potentially drop.
- Improves compatibility of Xsan clients when accessing volumes that use 1K or larger LUN sector sizes.
macOS Mojave 10.14.5
This update:
- Adds AirPlay 2 support for sharing videos, photos, music and more from your Mac directly to your AirPlay 2-enabled smart TV.
- Adds the ability to follow a magazine from the Apple News+ catalog browsing view.
- Improves audio latency on MacBook Pro models introduced in 2018.
- Fixes an issue that prevented certain very large OmniOutliner and OmniPlan documents from rendering properly.
- Disables accessories with insecure Bluetooth connections.
Enterprise content:
- Fixes an issue that prevented resetting the user account password from the login window after using a personal recovery key (PRK) to unlock the FileVault volume.
- Fixes an issue that prevented the
InstalledApplicationList
MDM command from recognizing that updates are available for apps installed via VPP.
macOS Mojave 10.14.4
- Apple News+ is a new subscription service that extends the Apple News experience with hundreds of magazines and top newspapers.
- Our editors handpick top articles and magazine issues, and you also get personalized recommendations on the topics most interesting to you.
- Automatic downloads make it easy to read magazine issues offline.
- Apple News is now available in Canada, with a free experience that includes handpicked Top Stories, a personalized Today feed, and support for both English and French.
- Apple News+ is available in the U.S. and in Canada, with dozens of additional Canadian magazines.
Safari
- Adds Dark Mode support for websites that support custom color schemes.
- Streamlines website login when filling credentials with Password AutoFill.
- Allows push notification prompts only after interacting with a website.
- Adds a warning when an insecure webpage is loaded.
- Removes support for the expired Do Not Track standard to prevent potential use as a fingerprinting variable; Intelligent Tracking Prevention now protects against cross-site tracking by default.
iTunes
- Shows more editorial highlights on a single page in the Browse tab, making it easier to discover new music, playlists, and more in Apple Music.
AirPods
- Adds support for new AirPods (2nd generation).
More:
- Supports Air Quality Index in Maps for US, UK, and India.
- Improves the quality of audio recordings in Messages.
- Supports real-time text (RTT) for phone calls made through a nearby iPhone on Mac.
Available in the United States only. - Provides enhanced support for external GPUs in Activity Monitor.
- Fixes an App Store issue that may have prevented adoption of the latest versions of Pages, Keynote, Numbers, iMovie, and GarageBand.
- Improves the reliability of USB audio devices when used with MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models introduced in 2018.
- Corrects the default screen brightness for the MacBook Air introduced in 2018.
- Fixes a graphics compatibility issue that may occur on some external displays connected to Mac mini (2018).
- Resolves Wi-Fi connection issues that may occur after upgrading to macOS Mojave.
- Fixes an issue where re-adding an Exchange account may cause it to disappear from Internet Accounts.
- Fixes an issue where AOL user passwords may be frequently requested in Mail.
Enterprise content:
- Fixes an issue that could prevent mobile accounts from logging in from an off-network Mac after changing their network account password.
- Fixes an issue that intermittently prevented apps from downloading from the App Store or installing via MDM.
- Mobile Active Directory accounts that have used their personal recovery key (PRK) to unlock a FileVault volume are no longer required to continue using the PRK to unlock, but can use their login password instead.
macOS Mojave 10.14.3
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This update improves the security, stability, and compatibility of your Mac and includes the following enterprise content: When making a file-sharing connection that uses a valid Kerberos TGT to authenticate, users are no longer prompted to enter credentials.
macOS Mojave 10.14.2
This update:
- Adds RTT (real-time text) support for Wi-Fi calling.
Available in the United States only. - Adds a menu item to News for opening a story in Safari.
- Resolves an issue that may prevent iTunes from playing media to third-party AirPlay speakers.
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Enterprise content:
- Allows administrators to enable FileVault via MDM for mobile accounts and users created by MDM.
- Allows users to reset their login password at the login window when that password has expired via a password policy.
- Resolves an issue that prevents displays from working when connected to MacBook Pro models introduced in 2018, if certain third-party USB graphics devices are also connected.
Mac Software Download
macOS Mojave 10.14.1
Mac video editing free. This update:
- Adds support for Group FaceTime video and audio calls, which support up to 32 participants simultaneously, are encrypted end-to-end for privacy, and can be initiated from a group Messages conversation, or joined at any time during an active call.
- Adds over 70 new emoji characters, including new characters with red hair, gray hair, and curly hair, new emoji for bald people, more emotive smiley faces, and additional emoji representing animals, sports, and food.