Macs and macOS versions
This page explains which Macs MacLauncher runs on and what differs from one Mac to another. MacLauncher runs on any Mac with macOS 13 or later, whether it has an Apple Silicon or an Intel processor, and almost all of it works the same on every one of them. A few runtimes need Apple Silicon, and some graphics features need a newer macOS or a particular graphics chip. On a Mac without them, MacLauncher switches off only what can’t run and explains why, while everything else keeps working.
Two kinds of processor
Section titled “Two kinds of processor”Every Mac has one of two kinds of processor. Apple Silicon Macs, from the first M1 models on, run programs built for ARM64 processors, and Intel Macs run programs built for Intel’s x86-64 processors. An Apple Silicon Mac can also run Intel programs through Rosetta, Apple’s translator, at some cost in speed. A program that contains both versions is called universal, and it runs natively on either kind of Mac.
MacLauncher therefore comes as two apps, one for each kind of processor. The download buttons on this site offer the right one for the Mac that’s visiting, and Getting started links both. The two apps share one library, one set of settings and the same installed runtimes, so moving from one to the other loses nothing.
How MacLauncher picks a build
Section titled “How MacLauncher picks a build”Many runtimes are published for both processors, and MacLauncher picks between them automatically. Each app downloads the builds made for its own processor, and a universal build serves either app. When a runtime version has no Apple Silicon or universal build, the Apple Silicon app uses its Intel build through Rosetta, and Play offers to install Rosetta if it isn’t there yet. The Intel app keeps choosing Intel builds even when it runs on an Apple Silicon Mac through Rosetta.
The automatic choice can be changed in Runtimes:
- When a runtime has builds for both processors and the Mac can run both, a Build menu above its version list shows the other processor’s versions. An Intel Mac lists only Intel builds, since it can’t run the others.
- Builds for both processors can be installed side by side. One made for the other processor carries an Intel or Apple Silicon tag.
- Set default on such a build makes it that runtime’s default, so games that don’t ask for anything else use it.
Some code has to match the game it works with, whatever the default. A library that MacLauncher loads into a game, such as part of the graphics layer, always matches the game’s own processor. Separate helper programs can differ: neural effects, for example, run in an Apple Silicon helper even for an Intel game running through Rosetta.
Versions and settings shows the Runtimes window, and Processor builds in the reference documentation describes these rules in full.
Runtimes that care about the processor
Section titled “Runtimes that care about the processor”Many runtimes have builds for both processors, or a universal build, and work the same on any Mac. Some depend on the processor:
- Android, iPhone and iPad, and Nintendo Switch games run their original ARM code directly on the Mac’s processor, so they need an Apple Silicon Mac.
- The WINE runtimes, Sikarugir and CrossOver, run Windows games as Intel programs, which use Rosetta on Apple Silicon.
- The 32-bit Mac runtime, the HashLink virtual machine, PlayStation 5 games and Java 8 also run Intel code, through Rosetta on Apple Silicon.
Each runtime version also has its own minimum macOS version. MacLauncher learns it, together with the processors a version supports, from the publisher’s release information or from the downloaded files themselves, and a version that a Mac can’t run stays in the list with the reason. Because versions come from each runtime’s own publisher, a newer release can need a newer macOS than an older one.
Graphics features by macOS version
Section titled “Graphics features by macOS version”The graphics layer runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs from macOS 13. Some of its features rely on technology that Apple added in later macOS versions or offers only on Apple Silicon, so they become available as a Mac’s macOS gets newer:
- MetalFX is Apple’s own upscaling, denoising and frame interpolation. MacLauncher asks each Mac’s graphics chip which MetalFX operations it supports, including Intel and AMD GPUs.
- VideoToolbox interpolation is a frame-generation method built into macOS. macOS reports on each Mac whether it supports it, and Apple doesn’t publish a list of the Macs that do.
- Metal 4 is the newest version of Apple’s graphics interface, which some effects build on.
- MLX runs neural models on Apple Silicon, for neural restoration and interpolation, and FSR 4.1 is AMD’s machine-learning upscaler.
- libplacebo and ISF are shader formats that MacLauncher prepares and runs on Metal.
- DXMT and D3DMetal translate the Direct3D graphics of Windows games to Metal, and KosmicKrisp is a Vulkan driver for Apple Silicon. All three serve WINE games.
This table lists each feature under the earliest macOS version that supports it, and every later macOS keeps it. Features under Macs that report support run where the Mac’s graphics chip or macOS reports that it can run them:
| macOS | Every Mac | Macs that report support | Apple Silicon only |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Shared graphics effects, libplacebo filters and shader compilation, ISF shaders | MetalFX spatial scaling, MetalFX temporal scaling | None |
| 14 | Video export | DXMT, Sikarugir DXMT | MLX neural restoration and interpolation, D3DMetal, Temporal upscaling in Windows games, MLX neural processing |
| 15 | None | None | FSR 4.1 |
| 15.2 | Window graphics | Window graphics | None |
| 26 | None | MetalFX denoised scaling, MetalFX frame interpolation, MetalFX image interpolation, VideoToolbox low-latency interpolation | Metal 4, KosmicKrisp, Vulkan renderers for Windows games, Neural video decoding and encoding |
| 26.4 | None | None | Sikarugir D3DMetal |
| 27 | None | MetalFX distortion and previous-color inputs | None |
A selected package can need a newer macOS than its feature’s minimum, and effects such as temporal upscaling also need information from the game’s renderer. When a feature can’t run, MacLauncher switches off only the effects that use it, and the rest of an effect chain keeps working. System requirements is the complete reference, including the processor and macOS version of each component that ships with the app.