CrossOver Allows x86 Windows Apps to Run on Apple M1 Macs

[chscag]

Pretty amazing what the folks at Codeweavers have been able to do:

CrossOver Allows x86 Windows Apps to Run on Apple M1 Macs

Codeweavers posted a blog post and video tonight showing off CrossOver running on an Apple M1 MacBook Air. This video shows Team Fortress 2 running on a new M1 MacBook Air: CrossOver is software (based on Wine Project) that runs Microsoft Windows apps on the Mac by translating Windows APIs...

forums.macrumors.com

 

[krs]

From the article:

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.

Does that perhaps suggest we might see a way to run Mac 32-bit apps via some emulation method?

 

[MacInWin]

From the article:


Does that perhaps suggest we might see a way to run Mac 32-bit apps via some emulation method?

Probably not. Two different technical issues. What the CrossOver folks did was take advantage of Rosetta 2, Apple's own emulator of Intel on the M1. Eventually Apple will retire Rosetta 2 (as it did the original Rosetta) and the CrossOver hack won't work. Apple has abandoned 32 bit, won't be looking back at it.

 

[krs]

I don't see this as actually being a "hack"
It's just using the current version of CrossOver with Rosetta 2 for what Rosetta 2 was intended.

CrossOver is software (based on Wine Project) that runs Microsoft Windows apps on the Mac by translating Windows APIs into their Mac equivalents. The Codeweavers team was able to run the current version of CrossOver on the new Apple M1 MacBook Air under Rosetta 2 to achieve this feat.

But yes - this will no longer work when Rosetta 2 is retired, same as applications specifically requiring the Intel processor will no longer work at that time.

 

[MacInWin]

Well, it is a bit of a hack in that it's not a true Win on M1 solution. It works, but only so long as Rosetta 2 does. But we don't need to debate terms. What Windows users want (and eventually need) is a way to run Windows on Apple Silicon. Either MS comes up with it, or the various emulator developers (CrossOver, Parallels, VMWare, etc) will give a go at a direct emulator, not through Rosetta 2. I'm frankly amazed that CrossOver works as smoothly as they claim. That's a tribute to the speed of the Apple Silicon and Rosetta 2.