From late 2020 Macs switched from Intel processors to Apple's own silicon. The two generations use different executable formats, so software has to match.
Identify your machine in thirty seconds
- Click the Apple menuChoose "About This Mac".
- Read the Chip or Processor lineApple M1 / M2 / M3 / M4 → take
arm64. Intel Core i5 / i7 / i9 → take64.
uname -m
# arm64 → Apple Silicon, download the arm64 build
# x86_64 → Intel, download the 64 buildWhat happens if you get it wrong
| Your machine | What you downloaded | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Silicon | arm64 | ✅ Native — best performance and battery life |
| Apple Silicon | 64 (Intel) | ⚠️ Runs under Rosetta 2: works, but slower to start and hungrier |
| Intel | 64 | ✅ Fine |
| Intel | arm64 | ❌ Will not run at all |
So: on Apple Silicon the wrong choice is merely suboptimal; on Intel it simply does not work.
What Rosetta actually is
Rosetta 2 is Apple's translation layer that lets Apple Silicon Macs run software compiled for Intel. It is essentially invisible — the first time you launch an Intel app, macOS offers to install it and you accept.
Translation is not free, though: slower launches, higher CPU use, more power draw. For a proxy client that sits in the background all day, that difference accumulates into battery life. Use the native build when one exists.
Checking which one is running
- Open Activity MonitorSearch for it in Launchpad.
- Find the v2rayN processUse the search box on the CPU tab.
- Look at the Kind columnApple means native. Intel means it is running under Rosetta.
If it says Intel, you downloaded the wrong build. Quit, delete it, and install the arm64 version — your configuration is unaffected.
Should Intel Mac owners upgrade?
For running a proxy client, an Intel Mac is entirely sufficient — the bottleneck is your network route, not the CPU. The real consideration is OS support: Apple narrows new-OS support for Intel machines each year, and newer application builds often require a newer macOS.