How To Check Whether An App Has Been Optimized For Apple Silicon In Macos

How to Identify Your Mac’s Silicon Architecture

List of Current Apple Silicon Chips

Apple M1Apple M1 ProApple M1 MaxApple M1 UltraApple M2

An Overview of App Types

Alongside the introduction of Apple Silicon chips for Macs back in 2020, Apple announced a software translation layer called Rosetta 2. Built into macOS Big Sur and later, Rosetta 2 automatically converts code that has been optimized for Intel’s x86-64 chip architecture, allowing Macs with Apple’s ARM-based chips to emulate Intel applications.

Intel apps: work natively on Intel Macs. Require Rosetta 2 on Apple Silicon Macs, which may negatively impact performance and reduce plug-in compatibility.Apple Silicon apps: work natively on Macs with Apple Silicon, enabling maximum performance and efficiency. Not compatible with Intel Macs.Universal apps: short for “universal binary.” Run natively on Intel and Apple Silicon Macs and do not require Rosetta 2 translation layer.

Check App Type Using Finder

Check App Type Using the System Information App

Verify App Type Using the Activity Monitor App

All photos and screenshots by Brahm Shank