GitHub Actions: Introducing faster GitHub-hosted x64 macOS runners

GitHub has introduced a public beta for enhanced macOS runners in GitHub Actions, offering increased speed and flexibility for developers requiring faster processing of macOS jobs. These new runners utilize the latest x64 Apple hardware, significantly reducing job execution times and enabling developers to focus more on building and testing code efficiently. In addition to the existing 3-core runners, a new 12-core "XL" runner is available, allowing users to easily increase performance by modifying a single line in their workflow file. This on-demand service ensures users only pay for the additional performance when needed, without consuming GitHub Action minutes in both private and public repositories. PyTorch has already benefited from this upgrade, reducing its build times dramatically. Developers interested in testing the new runners can request beta access and utilize the updated macos-12-xl or macos-latest-xl runner images. GitHub is also preparing to introduce Apple silicon-based machines, with plans for a limited beta in 2023, subject to hardware availability.