In those instances, it’s possible to force a Universal app to run the Rosetta version instead. This could be due to an M1 app that’s missing a feature you need, or if you’re using an app with third-party plug-ins or extensions that are only compatible with Intel. However, there may be a time when you have a Universal app (an app designed to run on both Intel and Apple silicon Macs) and you want to run the Intel rather than the M1 version. If a native app is available, your Mac will automatically run that version. After the installation, Rosetta is automatically available to any app that needs it. The first time you launched an app that requires it, an alert appeared to tell you the Rosetta is needed and ask for your permission to install it. If you have an M1 Mac, you’re probably already using Rosetta without realizing it. Developers need time to write apps with that “native” code, however, so Apple created a translation tool called Rosetta 2 that allows for existing Intel-based software made for Intel Macs to run on Apple silicon. So to take full advantage of the new chip’s speeds, Intel software needs to be re-written specifically for the M1 processor.

When Apple released the first Macs with the M1 processor (the first generation of Apple silicon), it also introduced a whole new architecture to run apps on the Mac.