MacOS Intel optimizations moving forward

[R3k]

I feel confident that Apple will support the most current Intel systems with a compatible MacOS for a good amount of years.
My concern- as they increasingly optimize the OS releases for ARM then Intel performance will suffer. We’ll end up in a situation where in 4 years MacOS is slower on an Intel Mac than it would be if they’d never gone to ARM. Intel performance optimizations will be a lower priority to them, as will testing, and then squashing of bugs.

Intel users will end up sticking to older MacOS versions just to keep their systems performing well.

Is this a valid concern? Thoughts?

 

[t90]

I'm thinking along the same lines - I would imagine that the majority MacOS (and first party apps) would be in a single codebase and then compiled for both architectures. If they go down that route, in theory they should be able to put in #IFDEFs to platform optimize, say use AVX on Intel / SVE for ARM where it makes sense to do so.

Hopefully they do this instead of just write for ARM and use Rosetta 2 to translate for Intel because hand written optimizations will likely always be able to do a better job.

If they choose to properly platform optimize, the question is how much bloat are the Apple developers willing to add to their code? Will it end up being mostly ARM-first with Intel optimizations as an afterthought?

Aside from that, Apple have an interest in making sure the ARM processors look better than the Intel ones so the tenancy to optimize them better may weigh in a little too... but maybe that's just me being a tad cynical

Edit/Correction - Rosetta 2 is not for ARM-Intel Translation!

 

[mfram]

Here's another way to think of it: competition. I'm sure that if Intel really wants to keep the relationship intact then they have every incentive to give Apple a kick-ass product that doesn't have issues. If Intel consistently makes a better product (including graphics performance) then Apple will be forced to stay with them. Consumers will demand it. In the end, the consumers win. Either Intel gets their act together and gives us better products on schedule or Apple kicks their ass and we get better laptops.

 

[R3k]

Here's another way to think of it: competition. I'm sure that if Intel really wants to keep the relationship intact then they have every incentive to give Apple a kick-ass product that doesn't have issues. If Intel consistently makes a better product (including graphics performance) then Apple will be forced to stay with them. Consumers will demand it. In the end, the consumers win. Either Intel gets their act together and gives us better products on schedule or Apple kicks their ass and we get better laptops.

Hmm, I dont see how that can really factor in. Its really about how long Apple will consider optimizing performance in MacOS for computers that already have intel chips or Intel Macs that will be designed withing the next year or so. Intel wont be doing anything to these chips, already moved on, and I very much doubt Apple will extend the transition period to ARM no matter how nice Intel play it in the next 2 years. Imo.

 

[DearthnVader]

Here's another way to think of it: competition. I'm sure that if Intel really wants to keep the relationship intact then they have every incentive to give Apple a kick-ass product that doesn't have issues. If Intel consistently makes a better product (including graphics performance) then Apple will be forced to stay with them. Consumers will demand it. In the end, the consumers win. Either Intel gets their act together and gives us better products on schedule or Apple kicks their ass and we get better laptops.

Apple is done with Intel, it's already a done deal.

iSO devices are where Apple makes the most bank, moving the Mac to the same architecture is better for Apple, their R&D, and software.

 

[dogslobber]

We've seen the last new Mac product running on Intel IMO. The pretense for 'new' models is all smoke and mirrors just like the pretend PowerPC pipeline. ARM Macs will be 100% of the product line by next summer and macOS XI will be tuned for it. But that doesn't need to degenerate from the Intel Mac experience which is great as-is today. It's just that as the years pass things will look less stellar for aging Intel Macs. But by then we'll all have moved to Windows PC so who cares?

 

[Bug-Creator]

The pretense for 'new' models is all smoke and mirrors just like the pretend PowerPC pipeline.

They DID release new PPC Macs after announcing the Intel switch!

There is no way in telling how the timing of decisions has been up until now (maybe they planned to announce later and fast forwarded for doubting Intel even more).

So we will see a few spec bumps.

There is the possibility that they had created an Intel board for a redesigned iMac before they committed to the switch or that the ARM iMac might be planned for not before 2022 anyways forcing them to do something bout that ageing design.

So, yeah I do expect an Intel iMac, might be as short lived as the iSight G5 but that was still a real product.