For Intel Mac users

A note for Intel Mac users.

If your earlier Intel install of ACE looked broken, it wasn't your Mac. Here's what went wrong and what we changed.

If you've tried ACE on an Intel Mac before this version, you may have run into one of these:

  • The app opened to a blank white window
  • The setup wizard never appeared
  • The app icon bounced in the dock and nothing happened
  • Setup got stuck and never finished downloading the AI model

That wasn't your Mac. It was a packaging mistake on our end that affected every Intel install we shipped, from the very first release through v1.5.7.

What was wrong

The wrong helper went out with the Intel build

ACE is built from two pieces that have to work together: the app you see on screen, and a small helper underneath that handles the heavy lifting — listening to the microphone, transcribing speech, finding the right slide. Both pieces have to be built specifically for the kind of Mac they'll run on.

For every release up to v1.5.7, we accidentally shipped Intel Macs the helper meant for Apple Silicon Macs. The visible app launched, but the helper couldn't run, so nothing the app needed was actually happening underneath. From the outside it looked like a blank or broken app.

Apple Silicon Macs (M1, M2, M3, M4) were never affected — they always got the right helper.

What we fixed

The Intel build now ships the right helper

Starting with this release, the Intel build ships with the right helper for Intel Macs. Both versions are tested on real hardware before each release going forward, so you can install with confidence.

If you gave up before

Please give it another go

Grab a fresh copy from the download button. The first launch will walk you through a short setup — microphone permissions, a one-time AI model download — about five minutes total.

If anything still doesn't work, email hello@ace-presenter.app and we'll respond personally. Tell us what you see on screen and which version of macOS you're on.

Quick check

How to know which Mac you have

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen, then choose About This Mac.

  • If it says Apple M1, M2, M3, or M4 — grab the Apple Silicon build
  • If it says Intel — grab the Intel build

If you grab the wrong one it just won't open — nothing breaks, but you'll waste the download. The app is about 600 MB.

Thank you

A small thank you

If you tried ACE on Intel before and we let you down, thank you for giving us another shot. We're a small team and we read every email.

Ready to try again?

The Intel build on the download page is the fixed one.