I have a lot of things that impact my setup and could cause delays. Yet I do not experience any audio lag with the AirPods Max. I use Consoles and Windows PC fed through an HDMI switch, fed to an Elgato USB device fed to OBS where I "Listen" to the audio from the Elgato unit which goes to my AirPods Max. No delay at all with all this equipment.
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Apple Event Next Week Likely to Emphasize High-End Gaming on Mac
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Wow that’s actually interesting, thank you for the real life perspective. What game, if you don’t mind? I don’t have anything in mind to play at this point that would be improved by ray tracing, just Minecraft and Cyberpunk mostly as tech demos.
I’m in no hurry, as with a lot of tech lately I’m fine to wait and see and let the bugs and compatibility and software support in general get sorted out. Interesting there is such a huge difference in FPS. I wonder if that’s down to software optimization or that the hardware is not there yet.
Feeling better and better about my decision to stick with the 13 Pro one more year and wait and see how this ray tracing situation on the iPhone pans out.
Cyberpunk especially I only get 45 FPS with Ray Tracing on. Turn it off and I get 110 FPS.
Who buys a Mac for gaming? I have a gaming laptop, Xbox, switch already.. and iPad has a ton of games like league mobile…
You would have to be fairly nutty in the head technically to believe that Apple is going anywhere in gaming. Even steam doesn't support Apple anymore and dismiss it however you want that's a huge massive crazy big deal.
If anything Apple is building up its existing mobile based games platform to have more advanced features. Maybe there'll be a so-called full featured game that can make some waves. But Apple is not going to turn into your friendly neighborhood fake console maker anytime soon. Because they're Apple and Apple doesn't play well with others.
With that they are doomed to fail. Congratulations on Ray tracing lol.
If anything Apple is building up its existing mobile based games platform to have more advanced features. Maybe there'll be a so-called full featured game that can make some waves. But Apple is not going to turn into your friendly neighborhood fake console maker anytime soon. Because they're Apple and Apple doesn't play well with others.
With that they are doomed to fail. Congratulations on Ray tracing lol.
This. If you’re serious, there’s no replacement for the target software and hardware platforms. But this increasingly requires a level of dedication most people just don’t have.
You’re absolutely right but OP’s point is valid, that doesn’t make this a good platform for games. I wouldn’t necessarily call a lot of games that were left behind abandonware. It’s just the nature of games more than most software, when they’re done they’re done and no one is going back. It’s just that people care more about old versions of games than old versions of Word (for example.) Microsoft cares about backwards compatibility and Apple does not. Not a compliment or insult to either company, just stating facts about different strategies.
Microsoft increasingly seems to care a lot less so maybe a sign of which philosophy is…well, not right, but more useful.
Nobody buys a Mac to game, but there is nothing wrong with using a Mac to game after you do some work.
Your comment makes clear for me what I think Apple is actually doing. They are going to do what Apple always does and try to do it their own way and redefine what gaming even means. I think you’re right. They’re approaching it the same way they came back to market dominance with the iPhone. PC gaming is a done deal, they won the same way Windows won the desktop so Apple quit fighting that fight and went the other direction, from mobile up. They attacked where Windows was weak. Same strategy here. Bring a few AAA games to mobile, but mostly just continue milking the gacha games on bigger screens.
If the Nintendo Switch can still get games, Macs would do just fine. Mac received essentially the 2023 Game of the Year already with Baldur's Gate 3, or would have no issues running the other Game of the Year contender Tears of the Kingdom at 4k. It doesn't need an RTX 6090 level worth of Ray Tracing performance in order for games to begin to be on the Mac. I mean the 4090 and 4080 aren't that widely used, the 1650, 2060, 1060 are still the most used GPUs on Steam Survey.
Plus there is no amount of money Apple can throw at this issue to win or even compete well enough with PC gaming. Everyone knows it. Windows was a monopoly for far too long, I now have over 650 games on my Steam library. There is no way I will ever give up my Windows PC as much as I want to. If a game comes out on Mac and PC, I will just keep buying it on PC because I will need to use my PC for my other 600 Windows only games and 50 games that have Mac versions. I already am frustrated enough that things like Spider-Man 2, Final Fantasy 16, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and more on PS5 aren't on PC, and that Tears of the Kingdom and other Nintendo titles aren't on PC as its a hassle having a few games here, a few games there.
Yup, Apple has better support for the most popular modern gamepads than Microsoft.
Windows is a complete mess if you don't use an XBox controller. And I'm not sure it's even completely seamless with an XBox controller. This is one area where Microsoft prioritizes its own accessories, while Apple has good support for all the major console controllers (Playstation, XBox, Switch)
It's slow and treated like an afterthought. I mean hell, it's still not AS native.
It is better than what it was before. Before the big update it would freeze up on me after being idle for 5 minutes. I do not have this issue now. Also, it is a bit sluggish on Windows too, they just don't put a lot of effort into it in general.
No joke I have had Windows 11 corrupt the Xbox Elite Pro 2 controller drivers (well the USB dongle drivers) five times. It's so ridiculous.
I find the PS5 controller quite horrible, it is too "plastic-y" feeling. I prefer the Elite Pro 2 controller with how heavy and premium it feels.
I am sure I’m in a minority but for me, An Apple TV (Plus/Pro/Max) would be most appealing. The AppleTV could add a more powerful/versatile variation aimed at not just streaming but also (light) console gaming. I say “light” but there is no reason they couldn’t be positioned in terms of power to compete at least above Nintendo. Then what apple needs is good games, to come on board.
I’m sure what i’m saying could be accomplished on a Mac Mini, but that will always be an option for us role who want a full computer hooked up, but many people want the simplicity of a dedicated device. Pickup a controller and go. The Apple TV seems more uniquely positioned for that I think.
I’m sure what i’m saying could be accomplished on a Mac Mini, but that will always be an option for us role who want a full computer hooked up, but many people want the simplicity of a dedicated device. Pickup a controller and go. The Apple TV seems more uniquely positioned for that I think.
Fair enough - that's all true. I use Steam because it's convenient and there's really no other option. Apple knows they'll never compete with the PC, but if they get enough of their existing users out there playing, a one stop gaming launch-point that integrates well with the ecosystem might generate some healthy revenue. It wouldn't take much for it to be better than Steam, IMO.
I am just not into gaming …
And I agree that it will benefit graphics performance, so overall it’s a good thing.
Most people buy their Macs for non-gaming applications but just want to be able to run some entertainment on the side without having to spend another $2000 for a Windows PC.
And killed it when they moved to ARM, and eliminated eGPU support. Without access to real GPU’s, even if Microsoft decided to allow boot camp on ARM, performance would still suck because of Apple’s insistence on rolling their own graphics hardware.
And then pay the studio to port the title you want to play to a niche platform.
Metal is impressive. So is a redstone rocket. But neither are in the class of a real GPU or Saturn V.
If Apple wanted to be seriously in gaming they should license DirectX from Microsoft and port it to run under MacOS.
Apple's new Vision Pro.
That's false. A high-end Mac is not outdated or obsolete after a year. It'll easy last 5 to 7 years.