AutoCAD Returns to the Mac with OS X Version Planned for October Launch

As Apple’s market-share in the personal computer segment continues to grow, AutoCAD, a popular Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided Drafting software application for 2D and 3D design and drafting, is seeing its rebirth on the Mac.

Developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc, the software was first released in December 1982, when AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers.

It was notably supported on the IBM PC at that time, as well as on the Macintosh, before Apple’s computer market plummeted starting with the early 1990s.

In 1992, Autodesk shipped the last version of AutoCAD for the Mac.

As reported by The New York Times, the company continued to develop other programs for Macintosh computers, but dropped AutoCAD support for the Mac in 1994.

Now, AutoCAD is making a comeback, as the Mac itself is making a comeback, according to Amar Hanspal, senior vice president for platform solutions at Autodesk.

“This is an endorsement from our side that design and engineering customers are taking the Macintosh seriously again,” Hanspal said.

Citing numbers dished out by Gartner, the NY Times informs that Macs accounted for almost 10 percent of all PCs sold worldwide in the first quarter of 2010.

This more than doubles the Mac’s marketshare in just a few years.

And it continues to grow, with Apple selling some 3.5 million Macs just in the past quarter, a rate that far exceeds the overall PC market, according to the report.

The paper cites Mr. Hanspal as saying that Autodesk could no longer ignore the platform.

Surprisingly, Apple’s Senior Vice President for Worldwide Product Marketing, Philip Schiller, is quoted in the report as well.

He reportedly said in a news release that Apple was thrilled to have Autodesk bring AutoCAD back its computers.

“We think it’s the perfect combination for millions of design and engineering professionals,” Schiller said.

AutoCAD for Mac will sell for $3,995, when it is released in October.

A version with limited capabilities will be available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, Mr. Hanspal said, suggesting it will make a great companion for those visiting job sites with an iPad in hand.