We’re going to be running through everything you need to know about Apple’s Metal API platform.
If you want to learn more about Apple Metal and what it’s used for then make sure you keep reading, as we’re going to be running through everything you need to know.
What is Apple’s Metal?
Metal is a low-level hardware-accelerated 3D graphic and compute shader API (Application Programming Interface) created by Apple. It was developed to improve performance by offering low-level access to the GPU hardware, working similarly to other platforms such as Vulkan and DirectX 12.
It debuted in iOS 8, and can now be used over multiple Apple platforms including iOS, iPadOS, MacOS and tvOS. It is not an open-source platform, meaning that Windows users cannot access Apple Metal, only Apple users can.
Metal helps the operating system render apps and games with high-resolution graphics faster, allowing users to engage in creatively demanding tasks at a better pace.
It’s worth noting that Apple Metal does not work entirely on its own, instead, it integrates with other frameworks within the Metal family. These include MetaFX, MetalKit and Metal Performance Shaders, among others. The latter includes high-end functions such as ray tracing, advanced mathematics operations and image filtering algorithms, which should come in handy when developing games.
At WWDC 2023, Apple revealed a new game porting toolkit was being added to Metal, aiming at making it easier than ever to bring games from other platforms over to Mac. The Metal shader converted should dramatically simplify the process of converting the game’s shaders and graphics code.
Which Apple devices come with Metal?
The latest version of Metal is Metal 3, which launched in 2022 at WWDC. Apple claims that games and apps that use Metal 3 can render high-resolution graphics in less time, with minimised loading, with train machine learning networks with the GPU for improved productivity.
Here is a list of every macOS Ventura Mac device that supports Metal 3:
- MacBook Pro (2017 or later)
- MacBook Air (2018 or later)
- MacBook (2017 or later)
- Mac Mini (2018 or later)
- iMac (2020 or later)
- iMac (21.5-inch, 2017)
- iMac Pro
- Mac Studio
- Mac Pro (2019 or later)
And here are all the iPads that support Metal 3:
- iPad (9th generation) or later
- iPad Air (4th generation) or later
- iPad Mini (6th generation) or later
- iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) or later
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) or later
Finally, here are all the iPhones that support Metal 3:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.