Apple can engineer Macs with ARM processors instead of Intel ones, but it can’t make all developers move with it —and there are some complications that will cause some problems.
If any company can radically change its entire product line by switching processors, then not only is it Apple now, it has always been Apple too. Unlike any other technology firm, Apple has twice abandoned its previous hardware to move over to new processors. It’s also abandoned its previous software in much the same way as it moved from the classic OS 9 to Mac OS X and now macOS.
Each time, the move has gone so smoothly, and the results have been so successful, that you can imagine the process was simple. The move from the original Mac’s Motorola processor to PowerPC, and then to Intel, was not in the slightest bit easy —it was just done extremely well. And in private it was planned very far in advance, too.
Each time Apple makes these transitions, they need other companies to work alongside them —and they need to explain to users what’s happening.
We’re not saying that a major move like this is difficult for the average Apple user to comprehend. But when it’s not their job to follow these details, and they are not as interested as you or we, Apple has to reach them. If not, users who buy new machines find they don’t work —and it’s Apple they will blame.
Read more at AppleInsider.com