Rosetta May Be Removed From M1 Macs in Some Regions on macOS 11.3

[MacRumors]

Installing the upcoming macOS 11.3 software update on an M1 Mac may result in Rosetta 2 being removed in one or more regions around the world.

In the third beta of macOS 11.3 seeded to developers for testing today, MacRumors contributor Steve Moser uncovered new strings in the beta's code indicating that "Rosetta will be removed upon installing this update." Another new string reads "Rosetta is no longer available in this region. Applications requiring Rosetta will no longer run."

Apple did not specify which regions where Rosetta 2 would be "no longer available," and no further details are known at this time.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1366904041243041794

Rosetta 2 enables Macs powered by Apple silicon like the M1 chip to run x86 apps built for an Intel-based Mac. The translation layer works in the background when a user opens an app compiled only for Mac computers with an Intel processor, and automatically translates the app for use with Apple silicon the first time the app is run.

It's unclear why macOS 11.3 might remove Rosetta 2 on M1 Macs in some regions, but perhaps there are legal or copyright reasons involved. Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment, but we'll provide an update if we hear back.

The third beta of macOS 11.3 also adds some new settings with imagery for mapping game controller buttons to keyboard layouts, according to Moser's code-level findings, but we are not fully sure what this entails.

Article Link: Rosetta May Be Removed From M1 Macs in Some Regions on macOS 11.3

 

[calstanford]

Hahaha. Good luck with those ARM chips then

 

[basher]

 

[farewelwilliams]

Patent issue in 3...2...1...

 

[JoeG4]

"in this region"?! that's an interesting one lol.

 

[NexusUser]

Wow, I just bought an M1 Mac Mini, if they remove Rosetta 2 then it's going back!

 

[InGen]

Could someone please share what the most prominent and popular Mac Apps are currently still using rosetta to function on M1 Macs?

 

[diamondsw]

It they disable Rosetta then the whole Apple Silicon transition is dead in the water. No one will trust the platform to not vanish out from under them. Just knowing this codepath exists is horrifying.

 

[TouchMint.com]

Umm this isn’t good at all..

 

[martyjmclean]

Could someone please share what the most prominent and popular Mac Apps are currently still using rosetta to function on M1 Macs?

Avid and Adobe come to mind. The vast majority of professional software/hardware isn't ASi native.

 

[pioneer9k]

Wow that sucks. I’m sure it has to be a legal thing. There’s no way in hell they’d remove it for some reason of their own.

 

[turbineseaplane]

"How to kill Apple Silicon Macs before they really even get rolling"

 

[aplnub]

Could someone please share what the most prominent and popular Mac Apps are currently still using rosetta to function on M1 Macs?

Last I looked on my M1, dropbox.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Maybe the region of the world being spoken of is the underworld part of Intel hell.

 

[Acidsplat]

I remember posting a few weeks ago I didn't trust Apple to keep Rosetta 2 for very long, and would release an update that would strip it from machines. No one believed it.

Well, here we are.

 

[tranceking26]

This would be a huge step backwards...

 

[mnsportsgeek]

Sounds like a legal issue, but usually those things play out in the press.

 

[ShootingStarPho]

Rosetta is a necessity for ensuring a smooth transition and to allow users the freedom to use apps as needed. (Especially power users that work in tech, arts, academics, etc)

Maybe this has to do with a maintenance issue; they don’t want to support this forever? Honestly, I’d pay an extra $3 a month for the privilege of continued Rosetta support!

You hear that Apple? Another subscription to make stubborn customers using Rosetta only apps (which will continue for at least 3 years, I imagine, if not forever) to have continued support, for payment. Power users, educators, and enterprises would pay; regular users wouldn’t be bothered because they will only use M chip approved apps. Problem solved!

 

[BootLoxes]

Would instantly cripple my workflow.

I hope this does not happen

 

[Kazgarth]

If you can't beat them, force them to remove x86 support.

 

[garethh]

That would be quite unhelpful. I hope there is some simple explanation.

 

[The Barron]

Wow that sucks. I’m sure it has to be a legal thing. There’s no way in hell they’d remove it for some reason of their own.

I detect big corporate lawyers breathing down Apple's back. ? ?

 

[Suckfest 9001]

Bait and switch. Apple should do the right thing and accept refunds going back to launch day from these regions.

 

[tekchic]

Been waiting for that 14" MacBook Pro M1 -- I might let that shake out for another year just to see what happens with Rosetta. I have a 2015 MBP that's my work and personal machine (software dev) so I need a pretty big workflow from Docker to Java/IntelliJ, brew, npm, etc.

 

[mikethebigo]

Could someone please share what the most prominent and popular Mac Apps are currently still using rosetta to function on M1 Macs?

Citrix Workspace is essential on my Mac for work. Still runs fully on Rosetta. Would be a disaster if I couldn't run it.