Apple will transition the Mac to its custom silicon chip, the company announced during its worldwide developer conference WWDC.

The transition will establish a common architecture across all Apple products, making it easier for developers to write and optimize their apps for the entire ecosystem, says Apple. This means developers can make their iOS and iPadOS apps available on the Mac without any modifications.

Apple plans to ship the first Mac with Apple silicon by the end of the year, and complete the transition in about two years. The company says it will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for Intel-based Macs for years to come, and has new Intel-based Macs in development as well.

Apple is designing a family of SoCs for the Mac, says the Cupertino giant. The company is launching the Universal App Quick Start Program, which provides access to documentation, forums support, beta versions of macOS Big Sur and Xcode 12; as well as a limited use of a Developer Transition Kit (DTK), a Mac development system based on Apple’s A12Z Bionic System on a Chip (SoC).

[Image courtesy: Apple]