1, the preface

Apple has announced plans to move the Mac to Apple chips

WWDC20 (Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) On June 22, 2020, Apple announced that it will release its own processors based on ARM architecture, and in the future, it will switch to Mac using Apple Silicon. “Developers can easily convert existing apps to run on Apple chips to take advantage of its powerful technology and capabilities,” Apple said. In addition, for the first time, developers will be able to bring their iOS and iPadOS apps directly to the Mac without making any changes.

To help developers get started on Apple chips, Apple will launch a Universal App Quick Start program with documentation, forum support, and beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12. And limited use of the Developer Transition Kit (DTK), a Mac development system based on the Apple A12Z Bionic System-on-Chip (SoC).

2, an introduction to

Apple Silicon

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s five software platforms, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS, provide a smooth experience across all Apple devices, And empowering people with groundbreaking services like the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to building the world’s best products and making the world a better place.

Why did Apple move from Intel-powered Macs to Apple chips?

Instead of analyzing Intel’s problems, this article will take a look at Apple chips based on ARM architecture and the changes Apple has brought:

  1. The Mac SoC product family will bring powerful new features and superior performance;
  2. Universal 2 can easily create an App that is compatible with Intel chips and ARM chips;
  3. Rosetta 2’s translation technology will enable users to run existing Mac apps that have not yet been updated;
  4. With virtualization, users can run Linux (and, so far, Windows);
  5. Developers can bring their iOS and iPadOS apps directly to the Mac without making any changes.

Relying on macOS Big Sur to ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Apple chips, Apple Silicon SoC chips bring more powerful graphics processors, neural network engines, and a common architecture across all Apple products. Making it easier for developers to write and optimize software for the entire Apple ecosystem.

For Apple developers, the Apple ecosystem completes the integration of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS! It’s still difficult, but you’ve already seen what the future looks like, and maybe it is!

CPU, GPU and T2 chips are too scattered and have different architectures, which directly results in limited information exchange between each other. Is there a better solution that allows them to work together, to be uniformly scheduled, to process common information together at the same time? The answer is yes, and the solution is called SYSTEM-on-a-Chip, the same technology that has been used for mobile phones for more than a decade. Why are ARM Macs so efficient? – the minority

Universal App Quick Start

In order to experience the Developer Transition Kit (DTK) for the first time, I applied to join the Universal App Quick Start project.

The terms of the Quick Start program are as follows:

  1. Available with documentation, forum support, beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12, and includes DTK for limited use;
  2. Developers can build and test their own Universal 2 apps;
  3. The DTK consists of a Mac Mini with a built-in Apple A12Z Bionic SoC (including 16GB of ram, 512GB SSD, and multiple Mac I/O ports);
  4. The DTK must be returned to Apple at the end of the project (DTK is strictly limited to being a rental item and not sold to developers);
  5. Total project cost: US $500 (RMB 3699)

Note: Universal App Quick Start Program Terms and conditions

Is it worth it?

At the time, the biggest concern was the cost, and developers paid $500 for limited access to DTK, which was like renting it from Apple, not buying it! You have to give it back!

So, is it worth it? It’s $3699/1 year, it’s about $10/1 day, and then someone on the Internet came up with an interesting history:

In 2005, the last time Apple made the switch from PowerPC architecture to Intel x86, it introduced a DTK, a retrofitted version of the then-Power Mac G5. After the developers returned the DTK to Apple, Apple gave it an iMac.

So, after the DTK is returned in 2020, will Apple send a new ARM Mac to developers?

To find out what it was like back then, I found the answer on Wikipedia:

The developers actually rented the $999 hardware (DTK) from Apple for about 18 months. Apple asked developers to plan to return the system to Apple within a week of December 31, 2006.

In June 2005, Apple shocked the Mac industry by announcing that it would transition its Mac devices from PowerPCS to Intel cpus within a year. In January 2006, Apple introduced its first Intel Mac at the Macworld Expo. The speed of Apple’s transition has surprised many. (The first ARM Mac, the M1 Mac, came out in November, faster than in 2015, suggesting that Apple may have pushed back the time frame by a few years.)

On January 10, 2006, Apple introduced an Intel-powered iMac computer with prices starting at $1,299. And an Intel-powered replacement for the PowerBook, a professional laptop called the MacBook Pro.

So, this year’s DTK, will Apple give developers an ARM Mac Mini when they come back next year?

contrast 2005 2020
DTK Power Mac G5 (3.6ghz Pentium 4) Mac mini (Apple A12Z Bionic)
lease Within one week after 31 December 2006 Within 30 days of one year (receipt of goods) due
cost The $999 The $500
The new product Intel iMac ($1299) M1 Mac mini ($699)

As a matter of fact, we may be in a bit of a pickle, of course, but as of this writing, Apple has stopped applying for DTK. So I found jobs’s interpretation when the first DTK was released in 2005:

At WWDC 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs stressed that there were no plans for a commercial release of the prototype hardware, saying, “This is an Apple Development Platform. It is not a product and will never be sold as a product. We’re just asking you to take it and start development as soon as possible. Actually you have to return it to us by the end of 2006. We don’t want this stuff lying all over the floor. It’s not a product.”

So, DTK is not a product! Just a developer tool

The answer, we can expect it! In 2005, Joe was in charge, and now Apple is not short of money. Next year will see How Cook performs.

Strictly confidential.

Apple has included strict confidentiality rules and all sorts of literally hyperbolic restrictions in the terms of its Universal App Quick-start program. Additional clauses include no disassembly, no performance run testing, and no non-development use.

  1. Licenses and Restrictions

2.2 No Other Permitted Uses

You (and your authorized developers) may use the Developer transformation suite only for the purposes and in the manner expressly permitted by this Appendix and in accordance with the documentation. You agree that neither you nor your authorized Developers will: (a) make any changes or alterations to the Developer Transformation Suite or any part of it; (b) Decompile, reverse engineer, decrypt, or disassemble all or part of the Developer Transition Kit, or attempt to disassemble all or part of the Developer Transition Kit, Or derive (or attempt to derive) source code or otherwise reduce the software portion of the Developer Transition Kit to a form comprehensible to humans (except and only to the extent prohibited by applicable law or permitted by license terms) to regulate the use of any open source components that come with such software); (c) Copy, modify or create derivative works of: developer transition suite or any part thereof; (d) displayed on the developers transition tool kit, presentation, video, photo, any drawing or rendering the transition developer toolkit, or to any images or measure, or make any benchmark (or allow anyone else to the above any one operation), unless otherwise the company written authorization, (e) Discuss, publicly write or post any reaction to the Developer Migration Kit (or your use of the Developer Migration Kit), whether online, in writing, in person or on social media, unless otherwise authorized by Apple in writing; (f) rent, lease, loan, sell, assign, sublicense, distribute, assign or otherwise share (other than to your authorized Developer as permitted under Section 2.1), or allow any lien to be placed in the Developer Conversion Suite; (g) Transfer of the Developer Migration Kit from its original country of delivery to that country without Apple’s prior written consent; (h) or export, re-export, or import the Developer transformation suite (or any part thereof).

So, in the first few months, the owner was afraid to say much, but now that the M1 Mac-Apple is on sale in December 2020, the secrecy rules are relatively insignificant. Therefore, this is also a meaning of the author of this article, let more people pay attention to apple platform, create more value for Apple developers, and Apple’s developer concept is consistent, conflict but meaningful.

DTK (Developer Transition Kit)

DTK (Developer Transition Kit)

Technical specifications
The processor Apple A12Z Bionic
memory 16GB
The hard disk 512GB SSD
I/O Two USB-C ports (up to 10 Gbps)

Two USB-A ports (up to 5 Gbps)

HDMI port 2.0
network 802.11 ac wi-fi

Bluetooth 5.0

Gigabit Ethernet
rates $500 / year

The DTK comes in the same packaging as the regular Intel Mac Mini, with little difference in appearance. What is particularly interesting is that the instructions for opening the package read on the front:

“The Future of Mac is Yours to Write”

Inside the box was a note that said:

Congratulations. Congratulations for being one of the first Developers for Mac Powered by Apple Silicon.

To be honest, simple words, very touching ~

Mac Compatibility

In a new architecture system, the first thing to look at is compatibility. Although Rosetta 2’s translation technology is mentioned above, not all instructions are compatible or successfully converted, such as kernel extensions, x86_64 virtualization instructions, etc. For incompatible app, you can use Rosetta 2 Translation, can see Apple document in detail: the About the Rosetta Translation Environment | Apple Developer Documentation.

On the ARM Mac, the software works like this:

  1. All Apple’s own applications, including the system itself, run in ARM native mode without any performance loss;
  2. All iOS and iPadOS apps run in ARM native mode without any performance degradation;
  3. All Catalyst applications must be recompiled into Universal applications without any performance penalty;
  4. All virtual machine applications run in the virtual machine environment provided by Big Sur;

X86-64 software operation mode:

  • All 32-bit x86 applications were phased out by Apple three years ago.
  • All 64-bit x86 apps that are distributed through the App Store are downloaded as translated versions;
  • All 64-bit x86 applications, if downloaded and installed over the network, should be translated during installation;
  • All 64-bit x86 applications, if installed as drag-and-drop, translate on the first run.

Why are Arm-based Macs so efficient? – the minority

There is a project on GitHub: ThatGuySam/ Doesitarm is an app list of compatibility of Apple Silicon chip architecture, showing native compatibility, Rosetta 2 translation, not compatible but under development, not planned yet, etc.

How long is the transition?

So, another question you might be concerned about is how long will Intel Mac support be updated?

Apple said it will continue to support Intel Mac updates in the future, but did not give a specific time frame. We can refer to the transition from PowerPC to x86 in 2005, which took 6 years:

  • Mac OS X version 10.4 (Tiger) of 2005 comes in both PowerPC and Intel versions
  • The PowerPC was removed from Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) in 2011.

Therefore, the conversion from x86 to ARM architecture is expected to take the same time, about 5~6 years.

Also, I think a lot of people are asking, “Is this the right time for me to buy an M1 Mac?”

  • If you have a Mac now, consider it for at least a year after June 2021, when most software will be compatible and migration will be a real productivity tool! Otherwise, it’s just a process of buying a toy
  • If you have never used a Mac before, then you can buy the iOS/iPadOS compatible app, but it is not very compatible, but it is more cost-effective than Intel Mac!
  • If you are a developer and have never used a Mac before, wait! Now with M1, developing software compatibility is a headache. Although historically, Intel Mac macOS can still support updates of around 5 generations, if you start with an Intel Mac, it’s a bit like a 49-year old D (Don’t spray if you don’t like it).

Install the iOS/iPadOS app

Originally before macOS Big Sur 11.0 Beta 10, you only needed to crack the shell, turn off SIP, turn off AMFI, and re-sign the iOS app to run directly.

Specific steps:

  1. Shut down the SIP
  2. Shut downAMFI(Terminal input:sudo nvram boot-args="amfi_get_out_of_my_way=1"And then restart to take effect)
  3. Install the development certificate on DTK and usecodesignCommand to re-sign
#! /bin/sh

codesign -d --entitlements :- "The $1" > temp.xcent
codesign -f -s "Apple Development: xxx (xxx)" --entitlements temp.xcent "The $1"/Frameworks/*
codesign -f -s "Apple Development: xxx (xxx)" --entitlements temp.xcent "The $1"
Copy the code
#! /bin/sh

# cryptid 0 cryptid 0
otool -l "The $1" | grep crypt 
Copy the code

Note: For SIP content self-search, $1 is the APP directory after ipA decompression.

MacOS Big Sur 11 Beta 10 cannot run the iOS app directlyOpen prompt:

The re-signed app shows that it is disabled:

Log output:

LAUNCH:Application cannot be launched because its unsupported bit is set, com.facebook.Facebook node=<private> status=-10661 handle LS launch error: {\n Action = oapp; \n AppPath ="/Users/iHTCboy/Downloads/iOSApp/Facebook.app"; \n ErrorCode ="10661"; \Copy the code

Solution: You need to add the UUID of the ARM Mac to the developer certificate, re-sign the IPA file with the certificate containing the UUID of the Mac, and then double click the IPA file system will automatically install, and then automatically add it to Applications, you can directly open the app.

Mac UUID location:

Double-click ipA file to install:

If the certificate is abnormal after re-signing, the following message will be displayed:

Installation successful:

Run the iOS/iPadOS app

IOS apps can run natively on macOS, which is very important and exciting for the macOS ecosystem! Because the quality of macOS apps has always been high, but the number of apps has not been greatly improved. So, this ARM Mac is a win-win situation for Both Apple and users!

Running iOS apps, there is basically no problem with UI compatibility, because with iPadOS, in fact, on macOS, it can be understood as a larger screen iPad!

DTK Arm Apple Silicon Mac Mini tries out Bilibili, the game of King of Glory. As can be seen from the video, since mobile games are generally operated with both hands, multi-touch on the mouse cannot be achieved, just for freshness.

Running king:

There is no lag in running multiple applications because they all run natively:

Trill:

TikTok, in particular, opens normally, but is not accessible on the iPhone. Note Some key physical information cannot be obtained during DTK identification, so it cannot be masked directly. Therefore, the security problems caused by DTK cannot be ignored!

Wechat reading:

Therefore, for iOS apps with little interaction, the experience is not very different from that on iPhone, that is, an iPhone with a large screen, such as a video app and a reading app, with seamless connection. This may be the future advantage of Apple ecology!

Finally, to understand the specific experience of wechat iOS version:

The “For iPad” screen appears when you open it, because the screen is larger than the size of an iPhone:

Home page:

Moments interface:

When accessing album permission:

When accessing camera permissions:

Post on moments:

Can also open small programs, currently more bugs, some pages will flash back:

Wechat reading experience is very smooth:

Finally, the Windows XP system started by UTM virtual machine is still very slow at present, looking forward to future optimization, I believe it can be done! :

IOS/iPadOS App principles and safety

The style of macOS Big Sur is similar to that of iOS, so iOS app running on macOS is not obtruding. The prompt box or UI is consistent, such as the classic Mac icon. Now they’re all starting to turn into rounded ICONS.

MacOS provides the kernel environment and runtime framework required by the iOS runtime, in the system directory:

/System/iOSSupport/System/Library/Frameworks/
Copy the code

However, the sandbox environment of iOS App security is completely exposed under macOS. At present, Apple does not encrypt or protect the sandbox directory of iOS App. Ordinary users can access the directory of iOS App at will. Or in the future, it is recommended to encrypt the contents and files in the sandbox directory to avoid user data leakage and increased security risks.

IOS App Sandbox directory:

~/Library/Containers/
Copy the code

DTK’s original app sandbox directory was directly named after the app:

Big Sub 10.1 Beta 10 and subsequent official releases changed back to the same directory ID name as the iPhone:

In addition, macOS supports Scheme call of iOS App, and The wechat login authorization of King of Glory can jump to iOS wechat app authorization. Therefore, it can be said that Apple has directly moved the entire iOS system to macOS. Whether it will be adjusted in the future needs to be verified by the market.

For developers of Apple ecosystem, in addition to a more complete ecosystem, you can directly run iOS apps on macOS, and do not need to support the i386/x86 framework emulator as before, but also need to pay attention to security issues. IOS before due to the high cost, so the black gray production is more android machine group, Android has the corresponding protection, and iOS if not too much attention to security, are handed over to the system sandbox protection, jailbreak users are a minority after all. Now the M1 Mac is sandbox-free, process-controlled, system-controlled, so from now on, developers must start paying attention to the AppleOS security ecosystem as they experience the unified Apple ecosystem.

M1 for Mac

On November 11, 2020, Apple released the Mac with the named M1 processor, officially starting the transition of Mac computers from Intel processors to Apple chips.

Macs with Apple chips:

  • MacBook Pro (13-inch, M1, 2020)
  • MacBook Air (M1, 2020)
  • Mac Mini (M1, 2020)
attribute specifications
process 5 nanometers (16 billion transistors)
CPU 8 cores (4 high performance cores / 4 high energy efficiency cores)
GPU 8 cores (nearly 25000 threads can be executed at one time)
NPU 16 cores (up to a staggering 11 teraflops of computing power)
memory Unified Memory Architecture (UMA)

Mac AppStore

M1 Mac Apple has opened up an App for searching and downloading iOS and iPadOS. The solution is simple. As with iPadOS, the Mac AppStore adds a toggle TAB: “iPad & iPhone App,” and the installation process is the same.

I don’t want to say more about compatibility. After all, It is only half a month since Apple launched M1 Mac. This iOS App compatibility is different for different developers. However, I believe that, given some time, the compatibility problem is not too big, after all, it will at least work now.

For developers, you can set whether your App is allowed to be downloaded in the Mac AppStore in the background of AppStoreConnect:

You can configure “Price and Sales Range” on the App details page:

Verify your app in macOS. By default, iPhone and iPad apps in the Mac App Store carry an “Not verified for macOS” label. After you have tested your app on an Apple Mac and verified that it works, you can remove the label from the App Store by confirming that compatibility has been verified in App Store Connect.

Matters needing attention:

  • Grade and comment. The Mac App Store and the iPhone and iPad App Stores have platform-specific ratings and reviews, and users who view your App will only see reviews from other users on the same platform.
  • Universal purchase. If your iPhone or iPad app is available in the Mac App Store, you can later add the macOS platform to your app in App Store Connect and replace it with a dedicated Mac version. After the replacement, existing users who use your iPhone or iPad App on their Mac will switch to the new Mac App when they update the app. If your iPhone or iPad App is already provided with the Mac App in the General Purchase, you will not be able to use the option to offer the iPhone or iPad App in the Mac App Store.

More can be found in the official documentation: iPhone and iPad App-Apple Developer for Macs with Apple chips

Fibre Optic Developer Transition Kit (Restoring DTK)

Finally, let’s talk about reinstalling the system.

The DTK update will need to be updated through Apple’s Beta Access Utility app. If you cancel the Beta update in your system preferences, you will need to download and install the Beta Access Utility again.

If the DTK system crashes and fails to boot, you need to reinstall the system. DTK itself is not a mature product, so the recovery mode of DTK is completely different from the steps of the current Mac. Because the ARM architecture is used, Apple directly moved the safe boot architecture of iOS and iPadOS to THE ARM Mac. Explore the New System Architecture of Apple Silicon MACS-WWDC 2020

DTK recovery system requirements:

  1. You need to prepare a Mac with a working macOS Big Sur system
  2. Download and install Xcode 12.2 Beta 2 and Apple Configurator 2.13.1
  3. Download the macOS Big Sur Beta Installer IPSW file from the Universal App Quick Start Program page

Note: Apple’s DTK restoration requirements will change with the iteration of the beta. For example, at the beginning, you only need to prepare a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15.5 or later, which must be macOS Big Sur. In addition, Apple provides a tutorial document: Restoring Developer Transition Kit.pdf (note: Only eligible developers can open it).

DTK system recovery steps:

  1. Place the DTK in “DFU” mode
  2. Connect DTK to Host Mac
  3. Restoring the device

In simple terms, a Mac with an Apple Configurator 2 macOS Big Sur system is used to recover by connecting to DTK via TPYE-C. Note that first you need to put the DTK into “DFU” mode, then you need to shut down the DTK, unplug the DTK power cable, hold down the DTK power button, reconnect the DTK power cable, and hold down the DTK power button for 2-3 seconds before letting go. Then use the Type-C cable to connect the TYPE-C port of DTK (the one near the HDMI port). Then open the Apple Configurator and a DFU window is displayed. Then drag the IPSW system file into the DFU window and click “Restore”.

Of course, the above is the theoretical basis, the actual operation, will encounter a variety of problems, such as encountered error:

The operation couldn't be completed. (AMRestoreErrorDomain error 10-failed to handle messagetypeStatusMsg) [AMRestoreErrorDomain -- 0xA (10)]Copy the code

At this point, you can only check apple’s latest DTK recovery documentation to see if the beta version you are using is up to date, if you are missing something, and so on.

If you wipe your Mac with an Apple M1 chip before updating to macOS Big Sur 11.0.1, you may not be able to reinstall macOS through the macOS Recovery feature. The system may display the message “Error preparing for update. Failed to personalize software updates. Please try again.”

You can use either of the following solutions to reinstall macOS: If you receive a personalization error when reinstalling macOS on a Mac with an Apple M1 chip – Apple support

It can be seen that the Mac OS system of Apple M1 chip has just started to adapt, so many things are not perfect. If you buy M1 Mac, try not to worry about it for the time being, and let the system upgrade a few small versions first.

4, summarize

From DTK to The Apple M1 chip Mac, Apple defined the Mac revolution as “One more thing.” Historically, Apple should have realized the ecology of ARM architecture years ago, from eliminating 32 bits to 64 bits, from Swift to MacCatalyst to SwiftUI, from OpenGL to Metal, from iOS to iPadOS, from developing gpus /NPU, Apple has been paving the way for the AppleOS (apple ecosystem), all of which is based on the powerful iOS ecosystem, and it is not very difficult to promote the integration of the whole platform ecosystem with the help of apple’s powerful system and tool chain.

Finally, as a developer of Apple for many years, although it is forbidden to use DTK publicly according to Apple’s rules, M1 Mac is now on sale. Therefore, the author thinks that to let everyone know more about ARM Mac and develop future Mac together may be what Apple wants us to do now, to feel the unity of Apple’s ecosystem tool chain. Should be in line with Apple’s philosophy!

The future of Mac, developed by us together! Come on!

5. Refer to the article

  • Universal App Quick Start Program – Apple Developer
  • Apple announces switch to Apple chip for Mac – Apple (Mainland China)
  • Apple Silicon | Apple Developer Documentation
  • Apple M1 Chip – Apple (Mainland China)
  • Macs with Apple chips – Apple support
  • Apple Silicon – Wikipedia
  • Mac migrating to Apple chips – Wikipedia
  • DTK can’t run iOS app on macOS Big Sur 11 Beta 10? – iOSRE
  • ARM Mac use tips – magic Canon
  • UTM virtual machine running Windows and Linux on iPad, expanding productivity possibilities – minority
  • utmapp/UTM: Virtual machines for iOS
  • UTM
  • QEMU
  • UTM – VMs
  • virtual machine using SPICE – Download
  • Apple’s core tools: Apple DTK 2020, an ARM-based Mac Minilaptop, what’s worth buying
  • Regarding the Apple DTK application, will it really be a Mac Mini – V2EX
  • Apple DTK details out – V2EX
  • 10 years with Intel, Apple Mac goes from strength to strength – Apple, Apple – cnBeta.COM
  • Developer Transition Kit – Wikipedia
  • Mac migrating to Intel platform – Wikipedia
  • Inside Apple’s Intel-based Dev Transition Kit (Photos) | AppleInsider
  • “This Is Not a Product”: The Apple Developer Transition Kit – MacStories
  • Apple WWDC 2005-The Intel Switch Revealed – YouTube
  • Apple WWDC 2005 – YouTube
  • Developer Transition Kit – Apple Wiki
  • Apple debuts Intel-powered Macs – BBC
  • ThatGuySam/doesitarm
  • DTK Apple CHIP Arm Apple Silicon Mac Mini try king of Glory game – Bilibili
  • Apple Silicon — The future is here
  • Identify MacBook Pro models – Apple supported
  • Why Apple changed its CPU: Intel vs ARM battle – Ruan Yifeng’s Weblog
  • Explore the new system architecture of Apple silicon Macs – WWDC 2020 – Videos – Apple Developer
  • About the Rosetta Translation Environment | Apple Developer Documentation
  • Reinstall macOS using macOS Recovery
  • If you receive a personalization error when reinstalling macOS on a Mac with an Apple M1 chip – Apple support
  • How do I reinstall MacOS-Apple support
  • How to create bootable macOS installers – Apple support
  • Why are Arm-based Macs so efficient? – the minority
  • Apple Developer for iPhone and iPad app-Apple Developer for Mac with Apple chips


  • If there is infringement, contact must delete!
  • If there are incorrect places, welcome to guide!
  • If you have any questions, feel free to discuss them in the comments section!