There is no confirmed decision from Apple they are switching to ARM for their desktops, not yet. The rumor is based on the fact that their mobile devices are ARM based and are getting powerful enough they might work in laptops.
I have a feeling that if/when Apple makes a switch, it will be very gradual, and will include wrappers to enable people to continue running “legacy” software we are using today. They did this before when they switched to Intel processors, so there’s no reason to believe that overnight everything will just stop working.
I worked for Apple for a few years (1987-1992), then was an Apple developer from 1992 onwards. There are exception cases when Apple deal with people early on. I was working at The Voyager Company, and would go there on vacation, before I moved to work for them. At Voyager I had access to a PowerBook 100 before they had decided what to call the thing! That was before I had access to one because of working in Apple Technical Support.
That’s an exception though. The general case is that developers find out things at WWDC. As WWDC is online, and I think free, you’ll know as soon as we do what is planned next.
@colin That’s cool that you worked at Apple. The PowerBook 100 was my first Mac laptop (though not my first Mac), and it made me curious what year that was. So I checked my MacTracker app and it tells me that it was released in 1991 for USD 2500. Some other specs:
Motorola 6800 CPU @ 16 MHz
RAM config 2 MB / 8MB max
HD storage 20 MB / 40 MB max
640 x 400 FSTN Display
5.1 lbs
I loved that computer, and IIRC it was built by Sony for Apple. Their first laptop effort — the Mac Portable, more a Luggable — was almost 16 lbs, so this was a huge leap forward!
Pretty crazy in comparison how much power we have in lightweight modern laptops, and what it’s enabled in terms of software (like SU) that we can run on them.
If you’re going to make me be all legally… I have no idea what anyone else knows as I’m neither a developer nor manager of development. I do know that when I talk to our developers, they’re attending WWDC and making decisions from changes they learn at those events. I don’t know if Apple has told any Developer that they’re switching to ARM, but I thought that was the point of WWDC, so they can announce this stuff in one fell swoop.
Personally, based on experience with the Microsoft Surface… I am NOT excited by this announcement.
#edit note - I AM familiar with and love the iPad Pro (easily my favorite piece of hardware) and its all ARM based. I know that ARM has potential, so we’ll see how things go at WWDC.
Anyway, off topic. To return to the original point, SketchUp Web is not a result of Apple’s plan to move to ARM. If they DO go that direction for Desktops, it will definitely be well positioned for success at that point.
I don’t mind off topic. Here’s a riff on what you were saying…
I was involved with the Macintosh Portable launch. The launch event in the UK was epic, we had Douglas Adams involved. The event needs its own wikipedia page, it was that epic! Douglas was given a Portable as part of his payment. Might have been his only payment, he was quite a Mac fan.
When the PowerBooks were soon to come out, me and the Mac product manager went to see Douglas (he was doing a performance with Max Whitby that night). We went backstage after the show, and handed Douglas a bag. He weighed it up, knowing quite well how heavy the Portable was, and declared “not bad!”. We then revealed that the bag had a PowerBook 100, and a 170 in it. He was happy.
Great story Colin, thanks for the telling. And super cool that you personally shared such snippets of Apple’s early history.
Must be gobsmacking for you to have seen Apple grow to the most valuable corporation in the world, from those humble and rebellious beginnings (not that Apple wasn’t already influential).
Thanks for your honest reply. I have an iPad Pro as well and I use it all the time but mainly for “consumption”. I do write and reply to e-mails and I can at times work on Google docs with it. I sketch some in AutoDesk Sketchbook and other drawing apps. I personally think the Apple pencil is NOT as good as the Samsung S-pen as I had a 2nd gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet but I am sure this is my personal opinion and observations.
Edit: Maybe the good news with this that there will FINALLY be a convertible Apple laptop (not tablet) with touch/pencil support
One would hope so-- though there is lots of speculation that they won’t have an emulation mode b/c of the licensing fees they would have to pay to Intel and/or AMD.
This is a good reason for having a web platform: not having to worry as much about OS updates and complete shifts in direction-- like Apple appears ready to do. That said, when I asked about SU web plugin support back in 2017, I was told Trimble was working on it:
I suspect if it hasn’t been done in 3 years, it’s not going to happen. That leaves a lot of Mac power users out in the cold if Trimble’s migration involves the web version.
My guess is Trimble will have to recompile for ARM-- and don’t know how long that will take.
I’m sure Apple will paint a rosy picture for everyone at WWDC-- that said, I’m happy I no longer use them as I ditched Apple years ago when it became clear they wanted no part of serious 3D. At the time all the big game development, VR, studio 3D and VFX was being done on PCs with Nvidia GPUs. Apple decided not to let Nvidia in their walled garden-- that was the final straw for me.
Extensions aren’t going away, they are fundamental to the power and versatility of SketchUp, something everyone values about the software. If we did go to all Web (HUGE If and I’m only playing devil’s advocate to say it) then we would only do it if Extensions were available there.
“Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens”
– Epictetus
That being said, Desktop isn’t going anywhere “any time soon” (don’t read anything into that) nor are Extensions.
With that being said, I also encourage people to actually dig into the Web version and give it the ol’ college try. I personally have been slow to use it simply because some parts are different and change, no matter how much we think we can handle it, is hard. As @Speaker mentioned, it is great for one-off, smaller projects. Extensions are powerful and useful, but SketchUp was still beloved before we implemented Ruby… you can accomplish a lot without them.
This deserves a new thread, but I would LOVE to read what a “new 3D engine” would look like for SketchUp. Is there a thread I’ve missed where it’s being discussed?
You’re right you didn’t. I was just adding that on as there seems to be this general idea that Apple might make the switch abruptly and force everyone to rewrite applications immediately or be left behind. I’m only suggesting that they might have a gradual approach, such as introducing ARM on a single machine at first and/or some emulation so that people could continue using the software they invested in. Just conversation.
You are right, 300$ per year is not enough for new functions as create empty group or modifying invisible object.
I think 999$ or 1499$ per year is better for professional as you
Consider that you have 2/3 years to learn another application to banish SketchUp.
There is Blender with new version each 3 month, and improved UI and Rhino with Grasshopper that is half the price of SketchUp in 10 years. Grasshopper balance the Rhino UI I dislike and improve productivity by x100 compared to SketchUp.
