SmartRace is a hybrid app, which means that it is built with web technology (such as HTML, CSS and JavaScript) and is built for the target platforms (iOS, Android and macOS) using a tool named Cordova. Cordova deprecated the macOS target platform back in March 2022, which means that the source code is no longer maintained and doesn’t receive any more updates. This step has caused most (if not all) plugin developers to also cease the support for this platform, some of which I use for SmartRace. Since I regularly need to update the used plugins, for example because there are changes required by the distributors (Apple and Google) to allow the app to continue to be sold over their stores, I am now forced to cease support for the macOS platform myself – at least for Intel based Macs.
The future: Apple Silicon
Fortunately that doesn’t mean that SmartRace will not be available anymore for macOS at all. It only means that you’ll need a Mac based on Apple Silicon to run it. Apple Silicon (meaning all Macs that have any of the M processors built in, e.g. M1, M2, etc.) allows your Mac to run any iOS/iPadOS app without any modification whatsoever. For me as the app developer this is a tremendous advantage, because I don’t have to maintain a separate code base for macOS anymore, but can be sure that my iOS code will also work on macOS.
TL;DR, here is what’s most important:
- Support for SmartRace on Intel Macs will be ceased soon, newer versions of SmartRace will only run on Apple Silicon Macs.
- You will be able to keep your current installation of SmartRace running for as long as you wish – you just can’t update it to a newer version if you’re using an Intel-based Mac.
- You will probably not be able to download version 5.7.4 anymore from the app store once the next release comes out. I am not 100% sure of this, but you better create a backup of your installation so you will be able to restore it if you lose it or it gets damaged.
