[Amp Equips AI Agent with Cloud-Based Mac: 30-Second Startup, Self-Compilation and Testing of iOS Apps] Beating AI News reports that Amp, an AI programming tool, has launched macOS Satellites, allowing its AI Agent, originally running in a Linux cloud environment, to automatically compile, run, and test iOS and macOS apps on a Mac as needed. The cloud-based Mac comes pre-installed with Xcode and a simulator, and the company claims it starts up in approximately 30 seconds. The Agent continues to modify code on Linux, only calling the Mac when compilation and testing are required. Test screenshots, logs, and screen recordings are sent back to Amp, and users can also directly take control of the Mac desktop and manually operate the applications. Amp previously tried running the entire Agent on a Mac, but Docker and backend services took several minutes to start, and reserving Mac disk space for each task was too expensive. Now, they've switched to a two-machine approach: Linux handles daily development, while the Mac only processes tasks that require macOS. The cloud-based Mac offers two configurations: $2 per hour for a 6-core CPU and 14GB of RAM; and $4 per hour for a 12-core CPU and 28GB of RAM. After the task is completed, the Mac will remain on the cache for 20 minutes to allow continued use of the build cache, during which time billing will still apply, before being automatically destroyed. This feature is currently in beta and requires addition to a waiting list. [Original Link]