Mac Compatibility Guide

Applications built specifically for Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) chips. These run at full native performance without any translation layer. They are the most optimized Mac experience available.

Applications that contain both Intel and Apple Silicon code in a single package. macOS automatically selects the right version for your Mac. These work well on both architectures.

Applications compiled for Intel processors. On Apple Silicon Macs, these run through Rosetta 2 translation. Performance is generally good but not native speed.

Apple's translation technology that allows Intel-based Mac apps to run on Apple Silicon. It translates x86 instructions to ARM at install time. Most Intel apps work through Rosetta with minimal performance loss.

Applications that run entirely in a web browser. These work on any Mac since they do not depend on the operating system. Feature sets may differ from desktop versions.

Software that emulates a complete computer system, allowing you to run Windows or other operating systems on a Mac. Provides access to Windows-only applications but with performance overhead.

The most popular virtualization solution for Mac. Runs Windows ARM natively on Apple Silicon with near-native performance. Best option for running Windows-only desktop applications on Mac.

A compatibility layer (based on Wine) that allows running some Windows applications directly on macOS without a full Windows installation. Limited application support and not all features may work.

Running applications on a remote Windows machine and accessing them through a network connection. Provides full Windows functionality but depends on network quality.

Each macOS version introduces new capabilities and deprecates older ones. Some applications require specific minimum versions. Always check the minimum macOS requirement for your applications.