Apple Silicon changed the Mac landscape with the M1 chip in 2020, and each subsequent generation — M2, M3, and M4 — has brought significant performance improvements. While some older desktop software requires Rosetta 2 translation or isn't compatible at all, Vid1080 works identically on every Apple Silicon Mac because it runs entirely in your browser. Safari, Chrome, and Firefox are all natively compiled for Apple Silicon, so you get full performance with zero compatibility concerns.
Apple Silicon Compatibility: Why Browser-Based Always Wins
When Apple transitioned from Intel to its own chips starting in 2020, software developers had to recompile their apps for the ARM64 architecture. Many popular desktop video downloader apps were slow to update, and some never released Apple Silicon native versions at all. A browser-based tool has no such limitation — Safari and Chrome are natively compiled for M1/M2/M3/M4, and since Vid1080's processing happens on the server, your Mac's chip architecture is completely irrelevant to the download process.
How to Download Videos on an Apple Silicon Mac — Step by Step
- 1Open Safari (recommended for Apple Silicon Macs) or Chrome/Firefox on your M-series Mac.
- 2Navigate to the video you want to save and copy its URL (Command+C).
- 3Open a new browser tab and go to vid1080.com.
- 4Paste the video URL into the input box (Command+V).
- 5Click the Download button and allow 5–15 seconds for processing.
- 6Select your preferred quality — 4K, 1080p, 720p, or lower.
- 7Click the quality option to begin downloading.
- 8The video saves to ~/Downloads, accessible via Finder or Command+Option+L in your browser.
M1, M2, M3, M4 — Does the Chip Generation Matter?
For browser-based video downloading, the answer is almost no. The bottleneck is always your internet connection speed, not your Mac's processor. An M1 MacBook Air on a 100 Mbps connection will download a 1080p video at the same speed as an M4 MacBook Pro on the same connection. Where M4 chips shine is in local video processing — if you want to transcode or edit after downloading, newer chips are dramatically faster. But for the download step itself, any Apple Silicon Mac is more than capable.
- M1 Mac (2020–2022) — fully compatible, Safari runs natively, no issues
- M2 Mac (2022–2023) — faster Wi-Fi 6 support, slightly faster browser rendering
- M3 Mac (2023–2024) — excellent efficiency for long download sessions on battery
- M4 Mac (2024–present) — Wi-Fi 6E support for the fastest wireless downloads
- All M-series Macs run Safari, Chrome, and Firefox natively — no Rosetta 2 needed
What About Rosetta 2 Apps?
Rosetta 2 is Apple's compatibility layer that lets Intel-compiled apps run on Apple Silicon Macs. Some older video downloader desktop apps still run through Rosetta 2 on M-series Macs. They work, but they consume more battery and run slower than native apps. With Vid1080, there is no Rosetta 2 involvement whatsoever — you're using a native browser to access a web service. It's the cleanest possible approach on any Apple Silicon Mac.
Battery Life Advantage on Apple Silicon
One underappreciated advantage of using Vid1080 on Apple Silicon Macs is battery efficiency. Because the video processing happens on Vid1080's servers rather than your Mac, your M-series chip is only doing light browser work during the download. An M2 MacBook Air can last 18+ hours under normal use, and downloading a few videos will barely dent that. By contrast, running a local conversion tool can spike CPU usage and drain your battery significantly faster.