182: I Had to Reboot My Car Today

Architecture

The discussion on Apple's potential shift from Intel to ARM architecture highlights the complexities involved. Marco Arment and John Siracusa explore the feasibility of ARM Macs, noting that while Apple likely has ARM OS X running in labs, the transition would require significant effort and resources 1. John emphasizes that past delays in Mac updates were due to issues like Skylake bugs, not ARM transitions 1. He also points out that Apple would need to pre-announce such a shift to allow developers time to adapt, similar to the Intel transition 2.

   

Virtualization

Transitioning to ARM could pose significant challenges for virtualization on Macs. Casey Liss explains that virtualizing x86 software on ARM Macs would likely slow down performance, impacting business users who rely on virtual machines for legacy applications 3. John and Marco discuss how Microsoft's ARM transition faced similar issues, highlighting the importance of a well-planned approach 3. Marco adds that while ARM Macs are a possibility, the current lack of motivation and potential downsides make the transition unlikely in the near term 1.