NVIDIA's GeForce NOW cloud gaming service enables M1 Mac support
What's the story
Gaming on Macs was pretty much a source of memes for the longest time, but that is about to change with Apple's new M1 chips. NVIDIA's game streaming service GeForce NOW has just added native support for the M1 silicon-based Macs.
The v2.0.27 update for the macOS should allow M1 Mac users to avoid slower x86 emulation using the Rosetta 2 binary translator.
Gaming on Raspberry Pi?
Google Chrome browser support opens up platform agnostic compatibility
In addition to native M1 Mac support, the update also incorporates compatibility with the Google Chrome browser. This is significant because it enables GeForce NOW compatibility with any device that can run the ubiquitous Chrome browser.
The official Chrome support extends to PCs as well as Macs, but this could also work on Linux distributions. NVIDIA notes "other platforms may work, but are unsupported".
Optimal streaming
Official Chrome support entails a smoother, lower latency gaming experience
GeForce NOW also brought official support for Google's Chrome browser. Although it was always possible for Windows and Mac users to use Chrome to run GeForce NOW, the experience wasn't officially supported.
The lack of polish in a latency-sensitive application such as game-streaming can have a huge bearing on user experience.
The official support for Chrome should guarantee a smoother, lower latency game-streaming experience.
Convenient access
Update enables easy shortcut creation and game sharing through messages
Also included is a nifty feature that allows iOS and iPadOS users to share games through Facebook Messenger, iMessage, WhatsApp, and basically any other messaging apps present in the Share Sheet.
Launching games is easier with the addition of the shortcut creation feature. All games in the library now have a simple two-step process to create a desktop shortcut through the options menu.
M1 silicon
Apple's departure from stagnated Intel hardware has paid rich dividends
Apple's decision to break away from under-performing and stagnant Intel hardware in favor of obtaining a full ARM license to develop chips in-house has paid rich dividends.
The first-generation M1 chips have surpassed expectations by posting strong single-core performance that outclasses Intel Macbook hardware. This has been a physics-defying feat for the power-efficient M1 chips.
32-core monstrosity
Future M1 chips pose serious threat to x86 desktop processors
While the single-core comparisons between Apple M1 silicon and Intel/AMD x86 processors have been largely misrepresented, it's hard to deny the processing might of the M1 chips given their minuscule power envelope.
It's no secret that Apple is already working on the next batch of M1 chips that are rumored to quadruple the core count to 32 cores with up to 128 GPU cores.