M1 / Apple Silicon compatibility

Hi guys!

Don’t know if my wording is correct, but here goes: Is Zwift still running through Rosetta2, or has it been optimized for the M1 yet? I’m thinking Zwift would need a new app for the latter, but I could be wrong?
Nice thread!

It’s running through the emulation, I believe.

Select the app in your Finder, then hit command-I or right click and select get information. There’s a field for app type. Universal is M1 native. Intel means it was written for the old Intel chips. The current Zwift app is showing as Intel.

Thanks! Yes, still says Intel. So I suppose the wait continues. Not that I have issues with it, but would be nice if it had a M1 specific app

yes, all modes including ultra ran great on my m1 MacBook Air. Battery drain was a bit higher on Ultra as expected.

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Hi everyone,

I’m having trouble running zwift with my macbook pro M1.
I had no trouble downloading and installing the app, and the app itself runs well.
However, whenever I try to connect my HT and HR monitor to the app, Zwift says the bluetooth of my laptop is turned off — But, it’s not.

I tried rebooting my bluetooth, turned it on/off, deleted zwift & re-uploaded it but nothing changed…

Anyone been experiencing the same thing ? Or has any advice ?

Thanks!

It is running on M1 but on ultra the shadow are not as clear and details as I have seen on GP Lama video (he is running on Windows). I thought with such high performance of M1 I will have best picture possible but it seems to be curb or downgrade for unknown reason.

M1 devices run the High profile, Shane’s PC runs the Ultra profile. This is separate to the game resolution setting.

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In case anyone needs reminding, the M1s are running in emulation through Rosetta. I love my M1 mini and am totally impressed with the increase in performance over my ATV 4k. Using the Mini as my daily driver with an LG 24" Ultra Fine monitor is a whole other revelation.

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Ok, is there any hack to activate ultra profile on the M1? Now it seems that it is powerfull enought. Although I might have notice that streaming (with OBS) my Zwift live take lots of ressource and the macbook air is burning hot, Macbook Pro M1 might be better when streaming Zwift live on Youtube or Twitch.

Kevin, it get stress if you live stream with OBS (on Rosetta as well). Macbook Air becomes burning hot in few minutes and a live is for 1 hour minimum. I recommand M1 on Macbook Pro with a fan or Mac mini.

Afraid not, the profile (detail level) is assessed and chosen by Zwift HQ, and it is automatically applied by the game when it loads. The M1 devices were originally Medium, so ZHQ have determined that High is the most suitable detail level rather than Ultra.

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Hi @shooj

Is the plan to offer native M1 Silicone compatibility for Zwift, or will it be in Rosetta for a while?

Cheers!

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Cant wait for Zwift to make use of those 8 cores!

Is that from a TdZ ride? If so, performance is equivalent to a 2013 Core i3 paired with a 2015 GTX 950.

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Yes thats from a stage 3 ride today. It might be the same performance, but the macbook didnt try to cook itself, infact it didnt even get warm. To me that says its got a long way to go.

My previous Macbook would have been burning as hot as the sun running those settings.

As soon as Zwift is programmed to use the M1 chip im sure it will improve drastically.

Oh and that was powering a 4k external LG display too as well as the laptop screen with chrome open on it.

Thanks, it’s interesting to note that the frame rate in a group event tanks in exactly the same way even on a completely different platform and architecture (albeit via emulation at present).

Personally I think you’ll be waiting a long time for the sort of optimisations you’re hoping for. There’s literally been none on other hardware, the game runs absolutely fine on a dual core processor and if fast enough they can almost match even a modern 8 or 16 thread CPU.

Yes, you can see clearly where I separated from the pack after the climb.

Apple might make some improvements to Rosetta when the Mac pro is released in April with the M1X. Who knows. Im happy with the performance for now from whats essentially my work laptop, not a dedicated Zwift machine, im not sure a higher fps would add to the ride for me. Maybe racing would be different.

It is possible to force resolution as well as the graphic profile. Instructions are on ZwiftInsider. It requires editing of the config file for the high graphics to add the details wanted that would be found in the ultra file as there is no way to have the game load a different file.

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