One of the advantages of Apple Silicon – the ARM-based processor from Apple found in the new M1 MacBooks and M1 Mac mini – is that it can natively run applications intended for iOS devices. The flip side of this, of course, is that software originally designed for Macs with Intel processors would not necessarily work well.
Perhaps to make up for this initial software deficit, Apple initially allowed any iPhone application to run on Apple’s Silicon-based Macs, allowing users to load applications using software such as iMazing. But according to a new report from 9to5Mac, Apple has now closed that gap, aligning new Macs with iOS’s ‘walled garden’ approach, where unauthorized apps can only be installed through a risky jailbreak.
Although this affects the current macOS Big Sur 11.1 and the developer version of Big Sur 11.2, the message for the latter is more specific: “This application cannot be installed because the developer did not intend it to run on this platform.” The software that was previously downloaded continues to work for now, as this only affects the application’s installations – just make sure you don’t uninstall it, as you won’t be able to restore it.
To be clear, this will not affect any developer who actively wants their iOS software on people’s Apple Silicon Macs. Developers who are not comfortable with their software running on Macs can simply cancel by removing their application from the Mac App Store. It is understandable that they do this: the new MacBooks do not have touch screens, so the experience would always be different – something users would not understand before clicking on a star’s review button, damaging their reputation elsewhere.
But that means that, at least for now, there are no M1 Mac apps for big hits like Netflix, Instagram and Facebook, which previously could have been perfectly transferred to the computer.
It’s a shame, but on the other hand, the launch of the first Apple Silicon Macs was a triumph. As we said in our review of the Apple Mac mini: “For most uses, the Apple M1 chip can take on Core i3 and Core i5 processors and win.” It’s that kind of impressive performance that supposedly left Apple confident of launching iMac and Mac Pro desktop computers based on its own chips in the near future.