Google now offers a version of Chrome that supports Apple’s new M1 Macs
Google now offers a version of Chrome that supports Apple’s new M1 Macs
While the x86 version of Chrome runs just fine on the new Apple M1 Macs, it’s not optimised for the platform. For one, it has to go through Apple’s Rosetta 2 translation layer. While this translation has proven to be super-fast, it’s never intended to be a permanent solution, at least from Apple’s point of view.
A day after pulling a version of Chrome designed for Apple Silicon, 9to5Google is reporting that the app is again available for download. If you’re on an M1 Mac, you should see an additional ‘Mac with Apple chip’ option when you go to the download page. So far, no one has done any comparison between the two versions, so it’s unclear if the Apple Silicon version is any faster or more battery efficient that its x86-based cousin.
As reported by CNET, Mozilla also has an Apple Silicon build of its Firefox browser. If that’s your cup of tea, the version to get is Firefox 84 beta.
Microsoft is also working to add M1 support to its Edge browser, according to this tweet by the Microsoft Edge team.
Source: 9to5Google, CNET, @MSEdgeDev on Twitter.