I am planning to buy a computer for my son. I feel with these new M1 Macs, it's crazy to buy anything but a Mac. Unfortunately, it cannot be a Mac because Minecraft bedrock version does not work on Mac. But could the new M1 run the iPad version, which is bedrock?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Minecraft bedrock version on M1?
- Thread starter ahostmadsen
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Technically, Yes it can. The question is whether or not Microsoft opted out of allowing the iPad version to be installed on M1.
When I get my M1 MBA tonight I will let you know if it shows up.
Check the game “Among Us”. Under “Compatibility” it includes macOS 11. Minecraft DID have an update today, but it still only lists the iPad, iPhone, iPod devices for compatibility. For any games you’re interested in, check here.
Can confirm that Minecraft bedrock does not show in the App Store. That is not to say the app will not get an update in the future to support AS Macs but it does not currently support. The Java edition should work though.
There is no technical reason why the bedrock version of Minecraft won't run incredibly well on the M1. The iPad version is great! I used to be able to run the android version on Intel Mac through a 3rd party tool.
What I'm getting at is there may be issues with running the bedrock version today, but these can be fixed incredibly easily. It's mostly just Microsoft flipping a switch to allow the iPad version to install.
As a very experienced Minecraft addict; there is a reason some people prefer bedrock and others Java for Minecraft. If he wants bedrock, then he probably won't like the java version.
Don't worry. I predict it will be here very soon.
What I'm getting at is there may be issues with running the bedrock version today, but these can be fixed incredibly easily. It's mostly just Microsoft flipping a switch to allow the iPad version to install.
As a very experienced Minecraft addict; there is a reason some people prefer bedrock and others Java for Minecraft. If he wants bedrock, then he probably won't like the java version.
Don't worry. I predict it will be here very soon.
Yep... was able to run the Education Edition which runs off Bedrock since I am a teacher. Perfect on MacMini. I hope that Microsoft will release Bedrock on Mac soon then!
Crossover is awesome for emulating Windows code calls, but I really don't think this will be necessary for Minecraft. Bedrock Minecraft is not a Windows app at all.
Microsoft only bought Minecraft in the last few years, and it has been supported by the developers on MANY platforms for MANY years. The Bedrock version is basically a rewrite of the codebase in C instead of Java. This allows it to be much more efficient. The Bedrock codebase runs on a wide diversity of CPU architectures and operating systems. It runs extremely well on iOS and Android, for example. But also on handheld gaming systems, the Sony PS4, etc.
Trust me, there will be ways to get Bedrock Minecraft running at full native speed with no translation layer on M1 at some point. My guess is sooner rather than later.
Hopefully sooner. I need to decide if I should buy a Macbook Air or a Windows PC for my son for Christmas.
Here's me playing Bedrock Minecraft on my M1 Air with all video settings set to max, 70 degree field of view, and Render Distance at 32 chunks.
This is the newest version of Minecraft. I own it on iPad, so I just downloaded the .ipa file from my iPad and it installed fine on my Mac. It runs very fast, and allows up to an 80 chunk draw distance. I used a PS4 controller to play. It can connect via bluetooth or USB.
This isn't perfect yet, as it should play full screen/res vs. playing in a window. But my point is that it will be trivial for Microsoft to update this to work perfectly on this Mac.
Let me know if you have any questions or if there is a particular thing you would like to see me do like connect to a server or download something from the store (all of which work). Or I can play multiplayer if you wish to see that.
Sorry there is no sound in the recording. It doesn't seem like the macOS built in screen recorder can capture sound. I can assure you all Minecraft sounds are working fine.
This is the newest version of Minecraft. I own it on iPad, so I just downloaded the .ipa file from my iPad and it installed fine on my Mac. It runs very fast, and allows up to an 80 chunk draw distance. I used a PS4 controller to play. It can connect via bluetooth or USB.
This isn't perfect yet, as it should play full screen/res vs. playing in a window. But my point is that it will be trivial for Microsoft to update this to work perfectly on this Mac.
Let me know if you have any questions or if there is a particular thing you would like to see me do like connect to a server or download something from the store (all of which work). Or I can play multiplayer if you wish to see that.
Sorry there is no sound in the recording. It doesn't seem like the macOS built in screen recorder can capture sound. I can assure you all Minecraft sounds are working fine.
So here is my worry about all of the IOS apps currently missing from AS Macs.... While it should be trivial like you state to update these apps to run perfectly fine on AS Macs, the question is will they. I am worried they might have some reason other then technical (already have a Mac app, input controls for games (unfair advantage in games like COD Mobile), etc...)
I think this is a legitimate concern.
I do not think it will be an issue for Minecraft though, because Microsoft has already supported it on Macs for years via the Java edition. It's only in their best interest for Bedrock to run on the Mac because they make most of their money from people buying stuff on the Minecraft built-in store. Because of the store they really want to gently move all their players to Bedrock instead of Java. On Intel it was just enough of a hassle that they didn't dedicate development resources to it; but now it's probably less than an hour of development time (and a few days of testing) to bring Bedrock Minecraft officially to the M1 Mac.
There was already a way to play Bedrock Minecraft on Intel Macs using a tool that would just download the X86 Android version (you had to have bought Minecraft in the Google Play store). Microsoft never blocked this method. It played really fast and smooth. That wasn't a fully native app like this is though.
My point was that the Bedrock Minecraft code base did not start its life on Windows. Windows was actually a later port. Of course it has a Windows version.
Since it is an iPad app, the mouse/keyboard support is the same as on an iPad. So if there is a text box you can enter text. You can use the mouse to simulate touch and swipe. However it is not using the mouse/keyboard the way the desktop version of Minecraft would.
The easiest method I've found to install your purchased Minecraft .ipa is to use iMazing. After you have bought Minecraft from the App Store on your iPhone or iPad; connect your iOS device to your Mac via USB and then:
Last edited:
Thanks for this, just tried it and can confirm that it installs and somewhat works.
After installing and launching, realized that the interface was the same as an iPad and that the keyboard on my MBA didn't work, then connected a blue tooth keyboard and still nothing. After some google, believe that some other people also tried using keyboard on their iPad and it didn't work. Looks like Minecraft on devices just doesn't accept keyboard input for locomotion in the game (it accepts text in the chat).