Steam Beta Adds Native Apple Silicon Support for Mac
Valve has quietly released a Steam Client Beta that runs natively on Apple Silicon, finally ending its reliance on the Rosetta 2 translation layer.
The updated Steam client eliminates the performance overhead that plagued Mac gamers since Apple's transition to its own chips. Steam's Chromium-based interface, which could slow to a crawl on occasion, now runs directly on Apple Silicon rather than through Intel emulation.
Early testers report dramatically faster launch times and smoother navigation through the Store and Library. The difference should be immediately apparent, with basic actions like switching tabs feeling fluid rather than laggy.
Apple announced this week at WWDC that macOS Tahoe will be the last version supporting Intel Macs, with Rosetta 2 set for deprecation. Starting with macOS 28, Apple said that only a limited version of Rosetta 2 will remain available for older games that rely on Intel-based frameworks
Mac users can access the beta through Steam's settings. Navigate to Interface, select "Steam Beta Update" from the Client Beta Participation dropdown, then restart to download the roughly 230MB update.
You can verify the native version is running by checking Activity Monitor – Steam should appear with "Kind: Apple" rather than "Kind: Intel."
Popular Stories
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
New MacBook Pro models with the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips could arrive as soon as Monday, March 2, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In today's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that the release of new MacBook Pro models is tied to the release of macOS Tahoe 26.3. The launch is said to be slated for as early as the week of March 2. He added that the M4 Pro and M4 Max models on sale today...
