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Amazon Web Services (AWS) now offers Mac instances for developers who want to accelerate the creation and testing of Mac, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS applications.
At the launch of AWS re:Invent quit Amazon Web Services today announced new Mac instances for Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud based on physical Mac minis with Intel processors. The company said the new capability extends the flexibility, scalability, and cost benefits of AWS to all Apple developers, as those building apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Safari will be able to provision and access macOS environments in seconds and take advantage of AWS's pay-as-you-go pricing. AWS customers can also consolidate cross-platform Apple, Windows, and Android app development on AWS.
Apple: “Combining world-class hardware with the scalability of AWS”
Like other Amazon EC2 instances, customers can use EC2 Mac instances with AWS services and features such as Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, Amazon Elastic Block Storage, Amazon Machine Images, and more. In a statement, Bob Borchers, Apple's vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said Apple is "excited" to make development for Apple's platforms accessible "in new ways."
Apple's thriving community of more than 28 million developers continues to create groundbreaking app experiences that delight customers around the world. With the launch of EC2 Mac instances, we're excited to make development for Apple's platforms accessible in new ways, combining the performance and reliability of our best-in-class hardware with the scalability of AWS.
David Brown, Amazon's vice president of EC2 at AWS, said it allows developers to focus on building applications rather than managing infrastructure.
Mac instances on AWS: M1 devices are also expected
Our customers tell us they want their Apple Build environment integrated with AWS services. With EC2 Mac instances, developers can now provision and access on-demand macOS computing environments in AWS for the first time, allowing them to focus on building breakthrough applications for Apple's industry-leading platforms instead of sourcing and managing the underlying infrastructure.
The new EC2 Mac instances are powered by Intel-based Mac mini devices with 3.2 GHz processors and 32 GB RAM, as well as the AWS Nitro system for 10 Gb/s VPC network bandwidth and 8 Gb/s storage bandwidth. EC2 Mac instances currently cost $1 per hour and are available now in the US East (Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), Europe (Ireland), and Asia Pacific (Singapore) regions. Customers can choose between Mojave and Catalina operating systems - Big Sur will be added soon. Mac mini devices with M1 chips will also be added in the first half of 2021. (Image: Amazon)
