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0 pointstotalZero5y ago0 comments

Apple pulled off a similar transition once in recent history (the other examples are so antiquated that they teach us little about the present hardware industry), and that was a move toward the rest of the personal computing market --- not away.

This is a step toward mobile/iOS. Apple isn't the same underdog that it was when PowerPC was put to bed, and the transition is challenging because the Mac platform is bifurcated in the interim.

PowerPC to Intel isn't a good proxy for this because the technology is different, the transition strategy is different, and the company itself is different.

If the M1 transition is to be smooth, it has to achieve that on its own merits, without looking back in search of comparable transitions past.

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macintux5y ago

The complaints raised in this article are mostly irrelevant to the typical consumer.

Rosetta 2, from all reports, works well enough that I’d argue they’ve already succeeded in making the transition smooth enough to call it a success.

The main non-developer concern raised in this piece is extraneous dialog messages, which sadly we’ve pretty well all been trained to ignore. I agree they’re unfortunate, but they’re hardly a show-stopper.

The real risks Apple faces, as far as I can see:

* Will developers do the needful for universal apps? That seems to be well underway, even among the giants.

* Will a lack of x86-64 Windows emulation prove to be a deal-breaker for too many users? I’d say that’s impossible to know, but I’m optimistic. (And if Apple once again is setting a trend for the industry, Windows itself may fully make this transition someday.)

* Will Apple be able to keep up with AMD and Intel in the chip race? Obviously early signs are promising.

Big risks, but mostly ones Apple can control, or at least influence. What other dangers am I missing?

Adding: the dependence on TSMC is obviously a risk, but I imagine Apple has some notion of what they can do if they lose that option.

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