Apple

Two very popular apps already work on Macs with M1

Notability and FileMaker now compatible with M1 chips

If you search among the best notepad apps for iPad, you will almost always see Notability among the options. And it is that beyond having very interesting functions in the tablet, it is valued very positively for its full integration with Mac computers. And today we can precisely say that it has taken a step further in this, since its developers have launched in these last hours an update that makes it fully compatible with the M1 chips and with all those that come from now on to Macs with that ARM architecture.

The same thing happens with FileMaker, an application that belongs to one of Apple’s subsidiaries and that offers interesting database tools. And, surprising as it may seem for being an app that in a way belongs to Apple, it had not been optimized for the new chips until these days. Therefore your ad is also just as relevant as the previous one and users who were already using it on the Mac M1 will be able to enjoy a much more complete experience.

notability filemaker mac m1

And it must be said that both applications worked until now through Rosetta 2, the code translator integrated in Macs with an M1 chip and that works in the background in order to be able to run applications that do not yet run ARM architecture and are still anchored to its operation in Intel. Although it is true that this translator does its functions very well and sometimes the difference with the native ones is hardly noticeable, there are many advantages that are obtained when the programs are already native and can maximize the performance of the chip.

A transition that is accelerating more and more

Going back to that WWDC last year, Apple announced to its developers the possibility of acquiring a Mac mini with A12Z chip so that they could start optimizing their Mac applications to the new architecture. Already with the first Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with M1 this became unnecessary for many. It is evident that such a complex issue at the programming level prevents all applications from working natively in the ARM from the beginning, but the truth is that today we can classify this transition as a success.

Although it is not finished yet (Apple dated it at about 2 years), developers are in a hurry and the most popular tools already work on Apple’s ARM processors. And the ones that don’t thrive on what Rosetta has to offer. It is true that the company still cannot close this period and proof of this is that the Mac Pro, its most powerful equipment, has left Intel behind and already offers versions with Apple Silicon, but everything looks very good.

BootCamp M1

Another topic will be Windows compatibility and it is that Microsoft is reluctant to make its operating system fully compatible with ARM and universally (currently it is only marketed to OEMs). It is up to them to achieve this and that BootCamp can be used to install Windows on a Mac ARM partition, proof of this is that Apple continues to include this wizard on their computers. At the moment you have to settle for applications to virtualize Windows on Mac as it is Parallels, who already works natively on these M1 chips. The good news in this case is that other processor manufacturers are also putting pressure on the company led by Satya Nadella.

Related Articles