Trying to get that one weird app working on new Mac silicon?
Anyone pondering how to get Intel-based Windows apps onto shiny new Apple M1 devices have been thrown a lifebelt by CodeWeavers. CodeWeavers, noted for the tweaked version of Windows compatibility layer Wine, has run up its CrossOver product on hardware based on Apple’s M1 silicon. The result will give heart to those keen to run the odd Windows app or two (so long as it is in the company’s compatibility list) because it appears to work. While specific benchmarks were not shared, the team took a new MacBook Air, popped on a beta of Big Sur 11.1 (to get access to some fixes in the Rosetta 2 translation layer), and fired up CrossOver 20.02. The excitement was palpable. “I can’t tell you how cool that is; there is so much emulation going on under the covers. Imagine – a 32-bit Windows Intel binary, running in a 32-to-64 bridge in Wine/CrossOver on top of macOS, on an ARM CPU that is emulating x86 – and it works! This is just so cool.
