Will I be able to run all IOS apps on the new M1 ipad?
March 9, 2022 9:33 AM Subscribe
I assume I can, but I want to be certain. Every single search talks about running ios apps on M1 Macs. But what about ipads. The new iPad uses an M1 chip - does it run all the goodies that are out or will there be issues?
Best answer: It will run all the goodies.
There will not be issues.
This CPU has the same instruction set as previous chips used by iPhones and iPads, so the same software will run on them.
The only potential problem would be old apps that don't run on recent versions of iOS and iPadOS. Those won't run. But that's not because of the M1.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:09 AM on March 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
There will not be issues.
This CPU has the same instruction set as previous chips used by iPhones and iPads, so the same software will run on them.
The only potential problem would be old apps that don't run on recent versions of iOS and iPadOS. Those won't run. But that's not because of the M1.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 10:09 AM on March 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The M1 is a scaled up iPad / iPhone A-series processor. In fact, it’s so similar a variant of the processor used in my iPad Pro was used in the early Apple Silicon developer platform. This enabled the M1 Macs to run iPad apps - a new thing! - hence your confusion. But since even the Mac version is basically an iPad processor, the experience on the iPad isn’t going to change.
posted by doomsey at 11:06 AM on March 9, 2022
posted by doomsey at 11:06 AM on March 9, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks All!
I just didn't want to have a D'Oh! moment.
posted by nostrada at 11:44 AM on March 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
I just didn't want to have a D'Oh! moment.
posted by nostrada at 11:44 AM on March 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
This CPU has the same instruction set as previous chips used by iPhones and iPads, so the same software will run on them.
This is.... only sort of true, but also hasn't really mattered for a while.
iOS apps are submitted to the App Store compiled to an intermediate format similar to Java bytecode, that Apple calls "bitcode". Apple takes that and compiles it into the binary that's shipped to your device on their side.
Everyone's right that you'll be fine and anything you can see in the iOS app store will work fine.
posted by mhoye at 1:08 PM on March 9, 2022
This is.... only sort of true, but also hasn't really mattered for a while.
iOS apps are submitted to the App Store compiled to an intermediate format similar to Java bytecode, that Apple calls "bitcode". Apple takes that and compiles it into the binary that's shipped to your device on their side.
Everyone's right that you'll be fine and anything you can see in the iOS app store will work fine.
posted by mhoye at 1:08 PM on March 9, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
On Macs, the big issue is that they switched from Intel based CPUs (called x86 architecture) to M1 (called ARM architecture). The two underlying architectures are so different, the computer needs two completely different sets of binary code to be able to run the programs.
However, on iOS, the CPU has been ARM architecture-based for a very long time (all the A-series chips) and therefore there is not a major version compatibility issue.
posted by Maecenas at 9:38 AM on March 9, 2022