Apple Silicon is required to develop apps for visionOS

visionOS

There has been some question in the developer community how long Intel machines will be supported by Apple. That cutoff could extend a few more years for some developers, but that deadline may already be here for anyone hoping to build for Apple Vision Pro.

Apple left a clear note in the Xcode 15.1 beta release notes — Developing for visionOS requires a Mac with Apple Silicon. This was pointed out by developer Steve Troughton-Smith, calling it a line in the sand.

While the visionOS simulator may work on some Intel-based Macs, Apple is telling developers that some portion of development won’t be available on Intel, either now or soon. That means any developer still sporting an Intel processor will need to consider an upgrade to Apple Silicon.

It’s a difficult market for some since Apple’s Mac Pro with M2 Ultra isn’t exactly a great move from the Intel model. Those who rely on additional graphics cards won’t be able to bring their workflows to Apple Silicon.

Apple declaring Apple Silicon as a requirement for developing visionOS software might be a sign of a greater move coming soon. Some speculate that macOS Sonoma may be the last operating system to support Intel.