Apple has told its Apple silicon Mac developers to stop optimising their apps for Intel

Apple has told its Apple silicon Mac developers to stop optimising their apps for Intel and to focus on the new M2 chips instead, according to a report. The report, which comes via a Chinese developer told told imore that when Apple contacted them about the need to update their apps for the M2 Pro and M3 chips, they were told to stop optimising the apps for Intel using Metal 3. The push to Apple silicon began in earnest in November 2020 when the company released its M1 chip. The company followed with the M2 (June 2022), M2 Pro (January 2023) and M3 (June 2023) chips, with the latest processor using TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process. <br><br>While we haven't received any similar emails from Apple, we are aware that some Chinese developers have received a similar email, the message in imore using Google translate said: "Your Mac App uses Metal 3 to support Intel GPU. However, the Metal 3 API only supports Apple silicon GPU, as well as Intel Iris Xe GPU. Therefore, the app has limited compatibility with Intel GPU-based Mac devices." Apple is actively phasing out Intel-based Macs to pave the way for Apple silicon Macs, and this will continue in the future. Apple suggests that the app remove the Intel GPU support in Metal 3." imore said. The developer's response to Apple was: "You do know that the i9-13900 costs more than M2 Max? Also, I'm not a US citizen, I'm Chinese, we can buy Intel Macs. I will notfix it. There is no problem at all. Your M2 Ultra barely supports 4k 60hz." Apple silicon M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra and M3 are all based on the 5nm process and are not yet as powerful as the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors. The push to Apple silicon began in earnest in November 2020 when the company released its M1 chip. The company followed with the M2 (June 2022), M2 Pro (January 2023) and M3 (June 2023) chips, with the latest processor using TSMC’s 3nm manufacturing process. The news comes as Apple prepares to phase out using Intel chips in favour of its own Apple silicon chips in the Mac lineup. While there is some speculation that the Apple silicon transition will be completed this year, it's worth mentioning that Apple originally said that it expected the transition to take two years. <br><br>The transition effectively began in July 2021 with the release of the iMac and in October 2021, the company phased out the Intel-powered MacBook Pro. In June last year, it announced a more powerful M2 chip and discontinued the last Intel-powered version of the MacBook Air. Apple also discontinued the last Intel-powered models of the Mac Mini and Mac Pro as well as the Intel-powered Mac Studio in June this year when it announced the M3. Bloomberg also reported that Apple could phase out Intel from Macs as soon as 2025. The news comes just weeks after a survey by TechRadar Pro revealed that of our 5400 tech decision-maker respondents, just over 13% have an Apple silicon device in use at work, compared to around 66% of respondents still using Intel-based Macs. Of the companies that have adopted Apple silicon, around 11% are using the M1 chip, while just under 2% use the M1 Pro, M1 Ultra, M2 or M2 Pro. A total of 59% say that Intel-based Macs offer better value for money, compared to just 16% who believe this of Apple silicon. There is a glimmer of hope for Apple, however, with 63% of respondents saying that they plan to upgrade to Apple silicon within the next 12-18 months.<br><br>#edit: note that I am not in the Apple ecosystem. Everything I can do on a Mac, I can do on my PC. We discuss tech including tech from competitors. Thank you for your time and response.