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PSA: VLC finally updated for Macs running Apple Silicon

By Kenny Yeo - on 19 Jan 2021, 9:37am

PSA: VLC finally updated for Macs running Apple Silicon

(Image source: VLC)

It has taken a while but one of the world's most popular media player apps has finally been updated for Apple Silicon.

In November last year, Apple announced M1, its first custom-designed chip for Macs and it has proved to be a resounding success, delivering unprecedented levels of performance and efficiency.

However, since M1 is based on the ARM instruction set, it required developers to recompile their apps to take full advantage of it. And now, VLC has done just that.

To be honest, there was nothing wrong running VLC on M1 Macs even before this. Apple's amazing Rosetta 2 translation software ensured that VLC ran well on M1 Macs even before it was recompiled.

Still, it now means that VLC can take full advantage of M1's incredible performance.

What's important to note here is that VLC isn't offered as a Universal app. Unfortunately, this means that there are two versions, one for Intel and one for M1 Mac. 

This can be confusing so be sure to check you have the correct version. For readers with M1 Macs, you want version 3.0.12.1. The M1 version of VLC won't run on Intel Macs.

Source: VLC

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