Samuel Axon
Microsoft has released a new version of source code editor Visual Studio Code that originally worked on Apple Silicon Macs, such as the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models with Apple M1 chips.
The change comes in Visual Studio Code 1.54 (now 1.54.1 thanks to a bug fix update), which is available as a universal 64-bit binary, as standard for applications with Apple Silicon support. That said, Microsoft also offers downloads for x86-64 and Arm64 versions, if needed.
Of course, there are no differences in features between the two versions. And the non-Apple Silicon version previously worked well on M1 Macs via Rosetta, but Microsoft says M1 users can expect some optimizations with the new binaries:
We are pleased to announce our first release of the stable Apple Silicon version. Users on Macs with M1 chips can now use US code without emulation with Rosetta, and they will notice better performance and longer battery life when using US code. Thank you to the community for self-hosting the Insiders building and reporting issues early in the recap.
Other key features in Visual Studio Code 1.54 include the ability to maintain terminal processes during window reloading, performance improvements in the Windows version, product icon themes, enhancements to the Git history timeline entries, and various enhancements for accessibility.
It’s the latest in a slow march of productivity and power-using applications that introduced original Apple Silicon versions, such as Adobe Photoshop. But many popular programs are still not original, including Visual Studio Code’s sibling Visual Studio 2019 for Mac.
Apple Silicon support is expected to come to Visual Studio 2019 for Mac with .NET 6, which is expected in November. The first .NET 6 preview was released last month.
Many software and creative production software vendors have committed to releasing Apple Silicon versions of applications including Adobe and Unity. But others, like Autodesk, haven’t made much noise about Apple Silicon support yet.
Apple is expected to move its entire Mac range to the new architecture by 2022. Reports referring to people familiar with Apple’s plans have indicated that more MacBook Pros will be coming to Apple Silicon this year, as well as major redesigns for both the iMac. and MacBook Air, which will also have Apple Silicon chips.