Wine is a free and open source utility that makes it possible to run some Windows applications on non-Windows operating systems including Linux, and Android, macOS. And starting with Wine version 6.0.1, that also includes support for running 64-bit Windows applications on Macs with Apple M1 processors.

Apple Silicon support comes courtesy of code contributions from the folks at CodeWeavers, makers of Crossover, which is basically a souped-up version of Wine with commercial support.  CodeWeavers has been working to enable support for Apple Silicon in its software since last year, and now some of that code has made it upstream to Wine.

A few things to keep in mind about Wine is that it’s a Windows compatibility layer and not an emulator or virtual machine. Some Windows applications may not work at all, and some hardware may not be supported. Mac users can find some of the capabilities and limitations in a macOS FAQ at the WineHQ website.

But with support for Wine64 on Macs with Apple M1 processors, you may at least be able to install and run some of the Windows games and applications supported by Wine on Apple’s latest laptop and desktop computers.

Other changes in Wine 6.0.1 include translation and documentation updates as well as bug fixes for some games and applications including several Adobe applications, The Witcher 3, Batman: Arkham Origins, and The Sims 3.

via Phoronix

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10 replies on “Wine 6.0.1 lets you run 64-bit Windows apps on Apple Silicon”

  1. Wouldn’t it be funny if x64 Windows software ran better through Wine+Rosetta than they did on Windows on ARM’s own emulation?

    1. Funny yes. And given M1 and Rosetta’s performance so far, plausible. But given my experience using Wine on Linux, it’s probably still a headache to set up, with plenty of compatibility issues.

      1. I agree. Admittedly, I haven’t tried using Wine for a few years. Based on my last experiences with it, I wouldn’t ever plan on needing to use Wine.

        1. For what it’s worth, I was recently able to install adobe air and an adobe air application (on Debian 10) just by right clicking on the installer files, something I wasn’t able to do a few years ago (on Debian 9). It also showed up in the applications menu automatically.

  2. Some important context: It appears that Wine on the M1 uses the x86-64 windows binaries, and this only works because of the Rosetta hardware and software (which I’ve read could be disabled in certain regions). It looks like it’s been possible to run 32 bit ones on M1 computers for at least six months (and maybe longer if you used Crossover).

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