Microsoft has announced that it will take at least 20 seconds to open the Office suite on macOS Big Sur. The operating system having been designed for the ARM Macs, which marks Apple's transition to its M1 chips, users will first have to go through Rosetta 2 to launch applications developed for Intel processors. The emulator must first make the software compatible for Apple Silicon chips, which explains this latency.
In an FAQ published on its site, Microsoft has guaranteed that it will be possible to install all the applications of the Office suite on future devices with an M1 chip. The question was indeed legitimate when Apple announced the launch of macOS Big Sur, since the firm has separated from its former partner Intel to develop its own processors. To ensure the transition of developers as users, the Cupertino company also unveiled Rosette 2, an emulator capable of launch software compatible with Intel chips and not yet developed for Apple Silicon chips.
Only downside: Microsoft has also said that the Office suite will put at least 20 seconds to start on ARM machines. A figure that may be surprising, especially in view of the astonishing feats of the M1 chip in its first benchmarks. “The first launch of each Office application will take longer, since the operating system must generate optimized code for the Apple Silicon processor, ”Microsoft explains. “Users will notice that the software will bounce off the dock for about 20 seconds while the process is complete.” Microsoft specifies that subsequent launches of the suite should not take so long.
Microsoft is working on better compatibility of the Office suite on macOS Big Sur
“This transition layer is automatically provided by macOS Big Sur and gives users access to all the features Microsoft applications, including modifications by a third party ”, continues Microsoft, before advising to install November 16.43 update 2021 for a better experience. The latter indeed includes optimizations for the new operating system from Apple.
To read also: Apple presents M1, the ultra powerful chip of the first ARM Macs
Microsoft is already working on a version directly compatible with M1 chips, as we saw during the WWDX conference in June 2021. The firm anticipates that its software will be able to be launched on both Intel and Apple Silicon processors from the same executable file.
Source: Microsoft
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