The macOS Big Sur 11.3 update arrived in beta 3 a few days ago.We saw herethe new features that the update brings. However, in addition to bringing various features and improvements, macOS Big Sur 11.3 could also mark the end of Rosetta 2 in certain areas of the globe.
The end of Rosetta 2, already?
Rosetta 2 is this Apple emulator allowing you tolaunch Intel applications on Apple silicon platform. In practice, when a user on a Mac equipped with an M1 chip uses an application not natively developed for the new Apple platform, Rosetta 2 takes over. Thus, the user can benefit from the application written for an Intel chip without worries, which at the same time allows developers to work quietly on an Apple silicon version of their software.
Except that, as some users across the globe report, update 11.3 in beta 3 right nowdoes not bode well for the short-term future of Rosetta 2. Indeed, some beta testers have seen the following mention appear:“Rosetta is no longer available in your region. Applications requiring Rosetta will no longer run.”To be translated as follows:“Rosetta is no longer available in your region. Applications requiring Rosetta will no longer be able to work.”
It seems surprising at first glance that Apple has already planned to stop support for Rosetta, given that Mac computers equipped with the Apple M1 chip have been available on the market for barely 4 months.
However, we can count on the fact that the presence of this mention in certain areas of the globe in macOS 11.3 beta 3 would not necessarily indicate a total shutdown of Rosetta 2 when the general public version of macOS 11.3 is released. Apple is surely preparing the ground for later. Many developers have not yet offered an Apple silicon version of their apps, the transition should still take several months. Some specialists also believe that the possible cause of the perhaps temporary withdrawal of Rosetta 2 in certain regions of the world is possibly legal and linked to local jurisdiction.
Otherwise, it is quite possible that Apple wants to push app creators to offer a native Apple silicon version of their software as quickly as possible, using in particular this first clue seen in the macOS beta. The Cupertino giant has every interest in ensuring that the Rosetta 2 emulator is implemented as rarely as possible on a Mac M1, given that it does not allow the emulated appto be as responsive as the same app in the native Apple silicon version.
If Rosetta 2 should still be available in macOS 11.3, its future remains much more uncertain on the next major version of the Mac operating system. Apple should also present the latter to us next June during the opening conference of the annual spring WWDC.
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By : Keleops AG
Editor-in-chief for iPhon.fr. Pierre is like Indiana Jones, looking for the lost iOS trick. Also a long-time Mac user, Apple devices hold no secrets for him. Contact: pierre[a]iphon.fr.
