That's true. For example when the Mac switched from PPC to x86 processors,
the emulation layer called Rosetta would reduce performance by about 50%.
The fact is... the new ARM processors will probably be twice as fast as current intel offerings. Let's see why.
Let's compare the performance of the current iPads to the performance of the current MacBook Pros.
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Can you see it? Roughly same performance. BUT there is a big difference: the Intel processor in the 13-inch MacBook Pro consumes 28W of power, while the A12X in the iPad Pro consumes about 7W of power (estimated figure based on iPad Pro battery life).
Also another interesting fact: the iPad Pro has a 36 Wh battery, while the MacBook Pro has a 58 Wh battery (almost double the size), but the battery life is still better on the iPad Pro!
Can you see the trend here? The A12X offers 2-4x the performance-per-watt compared to the Intel processors found in the current MacBook Pro.
What does this mean? It means that a future Apple built ARM processor, let's call it "A14 Max", will be built to take advantage of the thermal and battery specs of the MacBook Pros. It will be a 28W ARM processor with DOUBLE the performance of the current Intel offering.
So the old apps (and x86 virtual machines) will run as the same speed as before through emulation, while the OS and the new apps that are compiled for ARM will simply FLY.
And this is just the beginning. At the current rate of development and with Apple being able to optimize the CPU design and features for their specific OS, in a matter of 2-3 years, ARM MacBooks will be faster than x86 PCs even when running old x86 apps or virtualized x86 environments!
It's really a win-win scenario. I can't be more excited.