Just downloaded the "new" Kindle app to my M1 MacBook Pro from the App Store only to find, much to my amazement, that it's still an Intel app! Granted it works perfectly well and is a huge step forward from the Kindle Classic app that it replaced but why, three years after the introduction of Apple Silicon, is a company the size of Amazon still releasing Intel apps? I'm surprised the App Store guidelines allow this for a "new" app.
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"New" Kindle app in the App Store is still Intel!
- Thread starter Furby2005
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I just saw the same thing! Maybe that is Amazon's way of stiff-arming the Apple and the Mac community. It has taken them forever to update the app anyway, but to not take the opportunity to make it a universal app is quite surprising.
Given how fast the M series run intel code, I wouldn't be too surprised if intel code sticks around for a while.
It runs everywhere, it's only one code path to debug, etc. Its not like the kindle app is pushing the hardware, and even if it was, the libraries it will be calling into are native so...
It's more about Apple having to put effort into Rosetta 2 support. The moment the last Intel Mac stops receiving updates and given that devs now had many years to rewrite their apps I'd expect Apple to drop Rosetta 2 the first chance they get. To me it seems that Apple meant it as a way to ease the transition and that transition is now complete. Apple can't wait to stop supporting Intel Macs and they'd rather you throw out the Kindle and read on an iPad.
We're at least 4-5 years away from that.
You could still buy an intel Mac Pro earlier this year, and Apple aren't going to totally can x86 compatibility until they're EOL.
The Sonoma successor could be the last MacOS running on Intel Macs. Just look how Apple has been dropping support rapidly, next year's MacOS might drop support for all pre-2020 Intel Macs and even though it might still support the Mac Pro that could be over in 2025. If Apple decides to drop Rosetta 2 at the same time then we are merely 2 years away from end of support.
I can't claim to know that for a fact, but neither can you with your 4-5 years prediction and all signs point towards Apple trying to get rid of anything Intel as fast as they can.
This slow, Intel Kindle application isn't able to keep up with my Evelyn Wood speed reading abilities! 🤓
Good points, but Amazon also makes iPad and iPhone apps, so if they wanted fewer apps to debug, they would make an app that runs on all 3 platforms with one set of code and then bundle the Intel app in there for a universal app. No Rosetta required. I also want the ability for the Audible audio track to play on the macOS platform, which is another reason to merge all the AS apps.
I'm sure that's their plan - basically wait it out for running iPadOS/iPhone apps to be fully mature and then simply drop the Mac App.
In the mean-time, do not expect the macOS app to be updated to native code. I could be wrong on that, but in terms of resource allocation given the platform consolidation it would be a hard sell to/for the development team at Amazon to put out another code base (or at least validated recompilation of an existing code base) with a short life expectancy out there.
In terms of performance in my experience intel apps are virtually indistinguishable from native (especially things like an e-reader) so the cost/benefit likely simply doesn't add up.
Bit late to this thread, sorry, but I wanted to say that this is just another example of lowest common denominator programming.
It looks like an improvement, because cosmetically it looks more 'modern', but in reality it's less functional and more frustrating to use than the old program. That's mainly because it's just a straight port from the iPad, so of course it's less functional on MacOS. The main problem is the lack of keyboard features — there's no way of getting at some features with the keyboard, and there's no way of discovering the few shortcuts which have survived from the previous version. E.g. The old shortcut to get the notes panel services, but you can't get to the contents panel with the keyboard; you can bring up the search panel with a shortcut, but once you're there, you have to use the mouse to scroll through the list and so on.
Worse, some of the shortcuts that do survive (e.g. Left and right arrows) randomly stop working when you're in one of the panels. It's a complete mess and it's clear that little if any thought has been put into fitting the app to the OS. (Actually, you get the same frustrating friction using the iPad app with an external keyboard, but at least there it's a bit more understandable.)
Finally, it seems that the program has stopped catering for Mac URL links (kindle://) so programs like Hookmark can no longer link to locations.
I understand the reasons why they think this is the way forward (only one codebase to maintain) but that doesn't mean it benefits users. I don't know how long the old version will keep working, but until it stops, it's probably better not to downgrade to the new one just yet.
It looks like an improvement, because cosmetically it looks more 'modern', but in reality it's less functional and more frustrating to use than the old program. That's mainly because it's just a straight port from the iPad, so of course it's less functional on MacOS. The main problem is the lack of keyboard features — there's no way of getting at some features with the keyboard, and there's no way of discovering the few shortcuts which have survived from the previous version. E.g. The old shortcut to get the notes panel services, but you can't get to the contents panel with the keyboard; you can bring up the search panel with a shortcut, but once you're there, you have to use the mouse to scroll through the list and so on.
Worse, some of the shortcuts that do survive (e.g. Left and right arrows) randomly stop working when you're in one of the panels. It's a complete mess and it's clear that little if any thought has been put into fitting the app to the OS. (Actually, you get the same frustrating friction using the iPad app with an external keyboard, but at least there it's a bit more understandable.)
Finally, it seems that the program has stopped catering for Mac URL links (kindle://) so programs like Hookmark can no longer link to locations.
I understand the reasons why they think this is the way forward (only one codebase to maintain) but that doesn't mean it benefits users. I don't know how long the old version will keep working, but until it stops, it's probably better not to downgrade to the new one just yet.
A few points to add to your comments.
1) If the new app is indeed a straight port of the iPad app, then it makes even less sense for them to ship it as an Intel app.
2) Running both old and new apps side by side with the same book. Classic app RAM size = 173 MB, New app RAM size = 433 MB. Dang, this is a huge difference. Running this on a 14" M1 Pro MBP 16 GB RAM.
3) New app has double the running threads and take a bit more CPU, but not that significant. 1% vs 3%
4) I like the look of the new app with the ability to fill the width of the window with content and not have those large borders on the left and right.
5) I don't see a way to change or delete a highlight that you have created. No right click, no cmd-Z, nothing that I could see works.
Time will tell after I use the new one a bit.
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Just got an update on the Kindle app and it is now a universal app!