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Autodesk today announced that the updated AutoCAD 2024 and AutoCad LT 2024 software for macOS is able to run natively on Apple silicon Macs for the first time.

autocad-for-mac.jpg

Optimized for both Apple silicon Macs and Intel Macs, the updated AutoCAD software will bring performance improvements to those who have M1 and M2 series Macs. Autodesk says that the native Apple silicon support can increase performance by up to two times compared to the non-optimized 2023 software.
"AutoCAD for Mac 2024 and AutoCAD LT for Mac 2024 deliver incredible, new performance improvements with the ability to run AutoCAD natively on Apple silicon," says Dania El Hassan, Director of Product Management for AutoCAD, Autodesk. "It's exciting to see how customers can now take full advantage of the latest hardware and M-series chips for faster ways to work."
Other new features include Markup Import, Markup Assist, Smart Blocks Placement, Trace Updates, and more, with full details available on the Autodesk website.

Article Link: AutoCAD for Mac 2024 Gains Native Apple Silicon Support
 
Solidworks, Keyshot, and more professional programs, get it together and give up on X86! She's past her prime, a little bloated, the wrinkles cannot be hidden anymore, and she is not nearly as attractive as she once was. Come to the slender, new, fun, and young paradise of Apple Silicon! As long as you pay up, she does what you say and so much more.
 
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Solidworks, Keyshot, and more professional programs, get it together and give up on X86! She's past her prime, a little bloated, the wrinkles cannot be hidden anymore, and she is not nearly as attractive as she once was. Come to the slender, new, fun, and young paradise of Apple Silicon! As long as you pay up, she does what you say and so much more.
Come on, SolidWorks!
 
I never minded the touchbar though it got little mileage, something makes me think a program like AutoCAD could have made good use of it.
At risk of derailing this thread even further, neither did I. I just thought it was a bit silly that Apple's insistence on not adding a touchscreen to a Mac resulted in this halfway house.
 
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I think Autodesk might be the last publisher to drag its feet over to apple silicon. And that's only one of their products, and AutoCAD doesn't even need much CPU. They continue to release versions of Maya every year, but still for intel or rosetta 2. MacOS must be a tiny fraction of their overall sales to be such a low priority to them.
 
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My understanding is this took so long because of the many third party libraries they use. I know the mentioned fusion 360 utilizes over 1000 third party libraries and they had to work to get them all to apple silicon.
 
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ArchiCAD 26 has had an applesilicon written version for months. And the difference, considering that the software uses BIM, has been MASSIVE. I imagine auto desk users a will experience something similar. It is exactly software like this being written natively that pushes sales of high end macs. I hope Apple is more aware of this and works better with developers.
 
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I would love that as well. Fusion 360 just doesn't run properly on m1.

It’s coming this summer. Was announced on their forums.


 
At risk of derailing this thread even further, neither did I. I just thought it was a bit silly that Apple's insistence on not adding a touchscreen to a Mac resulted in this halfway house.

Personally I would NEVER want a touchscreen Mac. I also never viewed the touchbar as a "halfway house" but as a good idea that just never took off. We may be too habitual to make use of buttons that change function like that.
 
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