What allows a Mac with Apple silicon to use apps and other software like plug-ins,...

Rosetta 2 is the translation layer that enables a Mac with Apple silicon to use apps and other software that were written for Intel-based Mac computers in macOS. Rosetta 2 automatically translates the x86_64 code to run on the arm64 architecture at the first launch of the app, and optimizes the translation over time. Rosetta 2 also supports the translation of code that must run at the time of installation, such as installer packages, kernel extensions, and virtual machine software. Rosetta 2 is transparent to the user and does not require any configuration or intervention.  References : =  About the Rosetta Translation Environment ,  Porting Your macOS Apps to Apple Silicon ,  How to Launch the Intel Version of a Universal Apple Silicon App ,  Running X86_64 apps on Apple silicon processors