Mac OS Big Sur (ARM) - Windows ARM - Other ARM platforms

Hi !

Apple is leaving Intel for its own ARM chipsets for all its devices.
I have no doubt NI will provide a "Mac On ARM" version of all its products as soon as possible (or needed) but ...

Could'nt it be the perfect occasion to port Native Instruments products to generic ARM architecture ?
By doing so could it lead to the existence of NI products on Linux ? iPad ? Android ? Windows on ARM ?
Could it lead to touchscreen oriented UI / features ?

I know (hope) Apple will give the right tools in order to ease the transition and that it won't necessarily be true for windows and other platform but would it be painfull to also port existing code to generic ARM architecture ?

Its more a question than a request even if I would love to see this happen ;-)

Regards

 

I was just about to ask similar question: any official statement from NI in regards of their intention to make all software/hardware supporting native Apple Silicon?

 

I don't expect NI to comment on it for quite a while because:
1) They need to learn the changes, especially for learning DriverKit for hardware and moving from KEXT to DEXT.
2) NI may not have the budget to do it timely as they still work to keep supported software bug-free.
3) They can't promise something until they are sure there is a decent internal Alpha version. You know how crazy users get about unfulfilled promises.

There are other companies who are just more openly scientific and may offer some insight on their opinions on the challenges that most developrs will face. (ie. Melda Production, ImageLine)

 

Melda is so anti-Apple (on KVR Dev sub-forum) and disrespectful to Apple users that his opinion might be “slightly” biased

I agree that it will take long time for NI and that’s OK. I just would like to know their intention in this regard

 

Does this mean that you currently cannot run NI on an ARM based device, or does it just not work as well?

 

There is no Apple ARM computers yet, just development kits for programmers. At the moment, there are Intel Macs. NI soft runs on those of course. At the end of the year, there will be first ARM Mac and NI software will most likely not work on it at all. Within 2 years there will be only ARM Macs and Intel’s ones will still be supported for 3-5 years. 5 years from now, if NI will not recompile their soft for ARM, it will not work on any new Mac. That’s the gist of it.

 

today apple introduced macs with apple silicon
through the Rosetta software all the programs that run on Big Sur for intel can run with apple silicon
NI must make the software compatible for BigSur

 

Very interested in the new Mac mini , brought a Mac mini 2018 i5 a few months back from eBay , so I’ll have to resell that first
What’s everyone opinion on the new Mac mini , it looks an ok price £699
But is it better than the i5 I’ve got ?

D-One what’s your opinion

 

From what it says appla mac mini M1 is 3x faster in cpu than Mac mini i3 2018, so I assume it is more powerful in cpu than a i7 2018 and 6X faster in GPU.
I honestly recommend you wait for Native Instrument say something about Apple Silicon

 

For “work” as a professional (meaning you eat from it) the intels are still useful and capable. This even more relevant if your work depends on NI software which it’s still x86 based.

If you need iPad apps (there are amazing tools not available at macOS (like tonaly/tonality, lumbeat, pensato, chords, sector, etc etc some of them built with touch in mind) then maybe those M1 computers have some “unique” features.

ATM depends on your needs and where do you see yourself 3 years in the future. I’m ok with my iPad mini4/ mac mini late12 combo but I think new macbook air or pro can be a thing for “my needs”. That’s the point... target, use, needs...

 

I think everything from intel Mac should work because of Rosetta 2 ,
Apple are saying they’re more powerful but they only go up to 16gb ram where the 2018/20 can have 64gb or maybe even more like 128gb
More i/o on the older macs , but WiFi 6 , usb 4 , newer type of ram and ssd on the m1 version

Tbh I’ve not been using my Mac for music since I got the + , so I could make do for now if there’s any issues that need to be resolved.

If I’m going to sell my i5 i would probably get more for it now than later down the line

 

The issue at first will be big sur support

 

I am really interested in the new Macs as I use tons of iPad apps. If someone gets their hands on one of them, please upload your experience with Maschine and other NI software/Hardware. Specifically the added latency through Rosetta 2. Thanks in advance!


BR, Raq

 

I was comparing the m1 to the i5 , but you’re right it’s 3x faster than the base model which is the i3 .
The i5 is at least x2 quicker than the i3 , maybe even more if you max out the ram .

 

You’re probably right, in 3 years they’ll be even better.

 

Benchmark for the m1 MacBook Air

https://browser.geekbench.com/v5/cpu/4648107

 

I picked up a new M1 Mac Mini to test as my NKS/Maschine box (I currently have a 2011 mini with 16gb and 1tb ssd that I use exclusively to run Maschine/NKS, I treat it as a standalone device and record as audio into whatever sampler/sequencer I'm using)

I know NI said their stuff was not compatible, but I figured they meant "officially" and wanted to see how it ran with Rosetta 2. Well, at least with my initial experience, Native Access doesn't run at all, after it goes through the installation and update process you get a notice saying it isn't compatible with Apple silicon.

I also tried to download an old Maschine 2 iso from my account, that said it failed to install, but when I looked in applications, Maschine was there. Of course it is running version 2.4.7, with no way to activate because Service center wouldn't run because it said it "needed an update from the developer".

So I'd say, if NI software is a big part of what you'd use the machine for, hold off on the M1 Macs.

I will say, the new M1 Mini is super snappy, everything opens quickly, I'm sure they will be useful for certain users depending on what software you plan to use on them.

Also, iPad/iPhone apps do not show up automatically, the developer would have to enable them to be used on Macs as well as iPhone/iPad from what I can tell. Apple made it seem like this would be automatic but that doesn't seem to be the case, I searched for quite a few of my most used apps and they did not show up.

 

Apple wanted to force devs making them need to specify “opt-out” (that’s how they call it) but most music developers will need some time to make the jump. Not just for the touchUI adjustments but for the business model side too.

Give them some months and apps will pop up as mushrooms due the moment some start to pop, others will join the trend.

 

Yep, I'm sure many will start popping up, just stating that it isn't automatic as that is how Apple seemed to present it. It is a manual process, but should be cool in the end.

 

Apple put it as automatic so devs must uncheck that to avoid their apps deploying into AppStore (mac) AFAIK... so yes. Apple sold it as but it isn't (yet).

OTOH it's not so hard to adapt those but the problem is most iPad apps are developed for being touch not for being used with mouse... and the issue about prices between platforms too...