An Apple silicon build of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code dev app isn't far away

Visual Studio Code Mac (Image credit: Microsoft)

What you need to know

Apple announced that the first Apple silicon Macs will ship next week.
Microsoft has confirmed that a version of Visual Studio Code for Apple silicon is coming.
A version should be available to Insiders this month.

Apple announced its first three M1-powered Macs yesterday and now Microsoft has confirmed that it's working on a new version of its Visual Studio Code app that is specifically designed for Apple silicon.

While not yet ready for people to use as a production solution, the Apple silicon build of Visual Studio Code will be available to those on Microsoft's Insider program at some point this month, according to an announcement via Twitter.

To our Mac users 🍎 We've been working on bringing VS Code to devices powered by @Apple Silicon, and we're targeting a release for the Insiders channel by the end of November 🔖

Experimental Mac/ARM64 builds 🧪 https://t.co/xp550T6Kaf

Track progress 👉 https://t.co/DNZwlObcdTTo our Mac users 🍎 We've been working on bringing VS Code to devices powered by @Apple Silicon, and we're targeting a release for the Insiders channel by the end of November 🔖

Experimental Mac/ARM64 builds 🧪 https://t.co/xp550T6Kaf

Track progress 👉 https://t.co/DNZwlObcdT— Visual Studio Code (@code) November 10, 2020 November 10, 2020

Anyone who can't wait that long can instead download an "experimental" build, although I'm not sure how wise that might be. If you're really keen you can grab the latest build now. For everyone else, I'd suggest hanging fire until Microsoft says the updated version is ready for primetime. Especially if you're using Visual Studio Code for work!

Yesterday saw M1-powered Mac mini, MacBook Air, and 13-inch MacBook Pros announced with seemingly impressive performance numbers. We'll need to get one into our hands before we can confirm how great – or not – they really are.

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.