LTspice v17.2.4 for macOS is «Apple Silicon default», while LTspice v26 is Intel x86-64 only. WHY?

GFRS said:

What gives? Progress?

Yes, progress. Joking aside, we are working toward universal support. Afraid I don't have a timeline right now. I personally use the latest Mac version of LTspice on my M3 pro, Tahoe, machine and it is quite snappy. 

mike

Had a peek inside that 'LTspice_v26.app' and found CodeWeavers Crossover Bottle configuration, complete with «drive_c/Windows…» and «drive_c/Program Files…» folders. Even Internet Explorer and Media Player are in there. No such baggage in the 'LTspice_v17.app.' 

Does not exactly inspire confidence. Guess this means LTspice v26 has been 'overhauled' with a 'modern' M$ Windows desktop integration, be it WinUI3, WPF or whatever is in favor nowadays. A front-end that is now entirely emulated on macOS, including the x86-64 ABI. 

The one remaining question then, is whether the actual LTspice v26 number crunching simulator is also running under a binary emulation? The LTspice v26 app package contains both a 'LTspice' file registering as 'Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64' and a 'LTspice.exe' file registering as 'PE32+ executable (GUI) x86-64, for MS Windows'. So I guess the answer is yes, it too, runs under binary emulation. 

Hi GFRS ,

GFRS said:

Had a peek inside that 'LTspice_v26.app' and found CodeWeavers Crossover Bottle configuration, complete with «drive_c/Windows…» and «drive_c/Program Files…» folders. Even Internet Explorer and Media Player are in there. No such baggage in the 'LTspice_v17.app

Correct, it is no secret that the current version of LTspice Mac it is a port of the Windows version via Codeweavers. For now, this enables us to keep the mac version in sync with the Windows version while making under-the-hood improvements. We do test the comparative simulation performance of LTspice in various environments, and you might be surprised by the results; emulation is not always bad. Nevertheless, it is non-ideal, but it enables progress. Will porting from Windows be the long-term solution for Mac (or even Linux)? Probably not.

I've been using Windows LTspice for years now under crossover, on both my I9 mac and M3 mac and it runs just as well as it does on my Win 11 machine. I have two macs running LTspice in both Crossover (many versions in many bottles) as well as running ported LTspice. I run LTspice on one Win 11 machine only when I must test something particular to Windows. You may deduce from this which environment I prefer. If the performance of the Mac port were significantly worse (for being not a mac binary), I would not punish myself by using it.

mike