I consider updating my dated MacBook Air to the new Macbook with the M1 apple silicon just released. For my research work I often use SPSS (currently version 26). Will SPSS run in the new MacBooks (I presume under Rosetta 2): Is there a universal app coming?

It will take time for developers to compile applications for the new M1 processor. Problems will likely surface requiring a lot of pondering of the manuals.

I use Excel for statistical analysis which easily formats into workbook more easily than SPSS could handle in most cases.

I do a lot of financial modelling which calls for a lot of graphs and charts.

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Please read below 2 articles for SPSS Statistics on Big Sur and what you need to do for release 26. However, the best would be if you upgrade to IBM SPSS Statistics 27.0.1 release

"Apple has recently shipped new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac mini models that use a new Apple-designed M1 "System on a Chip" (SoC) which has a different architecture than the Intel chip. SPSS Statistics is designed for the Intel chip architecture. However, SPSS Statistics will still work on the new M1 hardware but may not run as fast. We are investigating how to optimize SPSS Statistics with the new M1 hardware."

For release 26 on Big Sur you should install 26 fixPack 1 plus an Interim fix 26.0-IM-S26STATC-MAC-FP001-IF003. Links for downloads are in the articles. You will need to register for an IBM ID with your e-mail address and a self selected password.

However, you will still need to obey what is said for issues with SPSS 26 on Big Sur on the articles. Please consider to upgrade to SPSS Statistics 27.0.1: "Anyone looking to upgrade their macOS to Big Sur is highly encouraged to upgrade to the latest version of SPSS Statistics also"

SPSS Statistics on macOS Big Sur (11.0)

https://community.ibm.com/community/user/datascience/blogs/todd-peterson1/2020/11/20/spss-statistics-on-macos-big-sur-110

SPSS Statistics 26 Fixpack 1

https://community.ibm.com/community/user/datascience/blogs/christina-howell/2020/05/27/spss-statistics-26-fixpack-1

Apple has a component called Rosetta 2 which evidently allows backwards compatibility but I have not seen much on the Apple forums yet about problems