Introducing the new, Apple silicon powered M1 macOS larger runner for GitHub Actions
- GitHub has released a public beta for the new Apple silicon powered M1 macOS larger runner for GitHub Actions.
- Apple developers can take advantage of the latest iOS and macOS features and leverage the M1 processor's on-chip GPU capabilities for increased performance.
- The M1 macOS runner comes with GPU hardware acceleration enabled by default, transferring workloads from the CPU to the GPU for improved efficiency.
- GitHub's mobile iOS team has seen a 44% build time improvement in delivering updates for the GitHub iOS app to the Apple App Store every week with the transition to the M1 runner.
- However, the team had to re-record images for snapshot tests due to UI rendering differences between M1 and Intel Macs.
- To use the new runner, update the YAML workflow file to target the Apple silicon macOS larger runner.
- GitHub has decreased the price of macOS larger runners to $0.16/minute for XL and $0.12/minute for large.
- More details on runner pricing and the difference between macOS, Linux, and Windows runners can be found in the documentation.
- Developers can track the progress towards the general availability of macOS larger runners on the GitHub roadmap.
- macOS 14 will also be available this year, with progress tracked on the roadmap.
- To stay updated on GitHub Actions updates, keep an eye on the GitHub blog.