Microsoft Visual Studio Code now supports Apple’s M1 chips
M1 Mac owners will see better performance and battery life when using the updated Visual Studio Code.
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What you need to know
Microsoft Visual Studio Code now officially supportsApple’s new silicon. The update brings improved performance and better battery life when using the app because it no longer has to run through emulation.
The update brings Visual Studio Code to version 1.54. Thepost announcing the updateis titled “February 2021,” but the update actually came out yesterday (viaiMore).
With support for Apple’s new silicon, owners of the M1 versions of theMacBook Pro,MacBook Air, andMac miniwill see the benefits of a native app. Those are three of thebest Macsyou can buy, and future Mac devices will also run on Apple’s silicon.
Microsoft said in its post announcing the update:
We are happy to announce our first release of stable Apple Silicon builds this iteration. Users on Macs with M1 chips can now use VS Code without emulation with Rosetta and will notice better performance and longer battery life when running VS Code. Thanks to the community for self-hosting with the Insiders build and reporting issues early in the iteration.The default download of VS Code for macOS is now a Universal build that runs natively on all Macs. On the Downloads page, you can find more links to architecture-specific builds for Intel or Apple Silicon, which are smaller downloads compared to the Universal package.
The update is a universal one, which means that there is one version of the app that will work on Macs no matter what type of chip they run.
In addition to adding support for Apple’s new silicon, the update brings improvements to Timeline view, improvements to keyboard navigation for toolbars and tabs, and several other changes.
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Sean Endicott is a tech journalist at Windows Central, specializing in Windows, Microsoft software, AI, and PCs. He’s covered major launches, from Windows 10 and 11 to the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT. Sean’s journey began with the Lumia 740, leading to strong ties with app developers. Outside writing, he coaches American football, utilizing Microsoft services to manage his team. He studied broadcast journalism at Nottingham Trent University and is active on X @SeanEndicott_ and Threads @sean_endicott_.
