Microsoft Visual Studio Code Updated With Official Apple Silicon Support

Microsoft has updated Visual Studio Code with official support for M1 Apple Silicon Macs, offering developers the ability to use the software without the need for emulation on Rosetta.

macOS universal download
The support is coming to the web and cloud app code editor as part of its February 2021 1.54 build, which alongside ‌Apple Silicon‌ support, includes several improvements and updates. Microsoft says that with native ‌Apple Silicon‌ support, ‌M1‌ Mac mini, MacBook Air, and Macbook Pro users will notice better performance and longer battery life.

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.

With version 1.54, Visual Studio Code is now also a Universal build download. Users with Intel or Apple Silicon-based Macs will be prompted to download the same file, which will automatically work for whichever Mac chip they're using. Microsoft is also offering users the ability to download the specific version of Visual Studio Code that works for their Mac's architecture on its Downloads page.

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
apple iphone air battery pack

Apple Aims to Boost Popularity of iPhone Air 2 in Two Ways

Tuesday December 16, 2025 11:06 am PST by
We have been covering iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 17e, and iPhone Fold details from The Information's report about future iPhone models, and next up is the iPhone Air 2. The report says that Apple aims to make the iPhone Air 2 more attractive in two ways. First, Apple is apparently considering adding a second rear camera to the device, which would resolve a key limitation. The current iPhone...

Top Rated Comments

Eddy Munn Avatar
63 months ago
I love VS Code! Proof that an Electron app—when done right—can work really well.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
panthro100 Avatar
63 months ago
Moved over years ago from Sublime, never looked back.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Merode Avatar
63 months ago

Visual Code is garbage like all Electron apps. You want the best? https://nova.app (from Panic). Native and amazingly snappy!
[SPOILER="Ouch!"][/SPOILER]
[SPOILER="Double ouch!"][/SPOILER]

Attachment Image

Attachment Image
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
martyjmclean Avatar
63 months ago

So, Electron ('https://www.electronjs.org/') apps are based on Chromium? ?
Kinda... they’re JavaScript/websites inside a Chromium browser.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
funkypepper Avatar
63 months ago
I'm sorry -- I understand that it works great etc. etc., but if it consumes tens of times more system resources and power than its counterparts, it's a pass for me. Just waste.

Instead go and support companies that write native Mac software, like BareBones (BBEdit) or Panic (Nova).
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
63 months ago
Prefer Jetbrains IDEs. I’ve tried VSCode and was very unimpressed. Don’t see what the fuss is about, other than that it’s free.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)