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The initial lack of SVE strikes me as very similar to the first round of Intel Macs launching with 32-bit only processors. It was 5 years before OS X dropped su
by wtallis 6y ago
The initial lack of SVE strikes me as very similar to the first round of Intel Macs launching with 32-bit only processors. It was 5 years before OS X dropped support for those machines, and 13 years before macOS dropped support for 32-bit applications. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple accelerate those deadlines a bit this time around, and make macOS start requiring SVE 3-4 years after they introduce supporting hardware. That would probably be the point at which it was appropriate for third-party applications to start requiring SVE-capable hardware.
I don't think keeping NEON capability in hardware is going to hold back their chips much, so they probably won't be under any pressure to break compatibility with NEON-using apps anytime soon.
- my123 6y agoWill take much longer than that, because even binaries can be shared between macOS and iOS this round. And the iPhone 12 won’t be out of support in 3 years.
- wtallis 6y agoiOS would only be relevant if Apple was enabling you to run Mac apps on your phone, rather than running iPhone/iPad apps on your Mac. The latter capability does not prevent Mac apps from requiring SVE hardware that phones don't have.
- monocasa 6y agoNo, it's relevant because iOS hardware and apps practically get updated faster. iOS apps that require SVE will be an issue on Macs without SVE.
- Symmetry 6y agoYeah, I really can't see how an SVE port couldn't handle NEON as well with only minor additional effort. If it's a wider than 128 bit port you'll be leaving capacity on the table but the NEON would still run just fine.