Does the 2020.2 Editor run natively on Apple silicon / M1?

I am having a hard time finding the information (neither on this forum nor on YT or so): is there any *native* M1 Unity version out there, being ready - or at least usable - for serious work? Could somebody who owns a M1 publish some updated feedbacks on this? It would be awesome.

 

As of Unity 2021.2.0a13, the latest version at the time I'm writing this, no, there is no native M1 version. However, Unity runs remarkably well even through Rosetta. I've actually seen improvements with my M1 Mac mini over my 2019 i9 MacBook Pro.

 

Thanks for your feedback, good to know. Two questions tho, comparatively to your MBP Core i9 how are your Mini M1 performances regarding:
- rendering (FPS gain/loss for eg)
- script compilation time (because as far as I know it seems the dotnet compiler isn't ARM native yet as well)
- if you happen to know: does the GPU lightmapper works?

Would help a lot to know this

 

Seems I'm actually wrong! I guess the M1 just feels faster because it doesn't sound like a jet engine about to take off and isn't as hot as the surface of the sun.

Here are some times from a small-mid size project. Keep in mind I have no idea how to get "proper" times. I just used the stopwatch on my phone and the Stats tab in Unity.

2019 MacBook Pro 15" w/ Intel i9 32GB + AMD Radeon Pro Vega 20 4GB
- Open Project: ~13.03 seconds
- Recompile Code w/ asmdefs: ~7.18 seconds
- Enter Play Mode (no options): ~4.21 seconds
- Enter Play Mode (with options): ~0.77 seconds
- Gameplay, ~71.7k tris @ 720p
- CPU: ~10.0 ms
- GPU: ~2.0 ms

2020 Mac mini w/ Apple Silicon M1 16GB
- Open Project: ~13.96 seconds
- Recompile Code w/ asmdefs: ~14.56 seconds
- Enter Play Mode (no options): ~8.21 seconds
- Enter Play Mode (with options): ~0.76 seconds
- Gameplay, ~71.7k tris @ 720p
- CPU: ~12.1 ms
- GPU: ~1.3 ms

No clue about the GPU lightmapper, sorry! I'd assume the performance to be about the same based on my tests, but definitely wait for someone who knows how to record stats properly.

 

Awesome! Great for your metrics and thank you so much for the time you took to produce help.

Actually it helps a lot, it really seems like it all come from the .NET compiler (recompile + entering play mode) because the rest of the differences seem acceptable. But unfortunately it seems we still have to wait some months before Unity get there.

2021 is a bit dark for us indie game devs who want to work on macOS: no complete and acceptable Unity M1 support (till the end of the year I guess) and the future of Unreal Engine on this platform seems doomed as well (given the relations between Epic and Apple). I guess we have to keep programming on Windows/Linux machines for a while >_>

Thanks again for your time and feedbacks!

 

Only but big enough reason to not buy any M1 Mac right now. I was looking forward for the 32 inch iMac or the 16 inch Mac Book Pro. But we need that official Unity support.

That’s a bit of an unfair comparison. Pro model vs consumer device…

 

I ended up buying a M1-based setup and I must say it does run fine - even through Rosetta, the Unity process is flagged as Intel architecture in the macOS task manager. Even tho, for the kind of games we work on, it's smooth and fast enough, no problem. Also to mention that Rider is still on Intel architecture as well - IntelliJ is Apple Silicon enabled tho. Seems to me those are the .NET dependencies which aren't fully M1 compliant yet.

Regarding launch time (play mode), go to Project Settings / Editor and check "Enter Play Mode Options" (keep the reload checkboxes unchecked) and the Unity editor will enter the play mode is less than a second.

 

When is the native version going to release?

 

Will there be a native version for 2019 and 2020?

 

Great news, is the current Alpha (a17) already built for ARM?

 

No. Unity Editor is Intel based as of 2021.2.0a17. However, there is a "<Rosetta>" tag in the title bar in 2021.2, so maybe we'll see something sometime in the coming weeks.

 

Perhaps a status page or something would be a little handier for communicating with your users? There is big demand for this and users like us are never terribly patient. We don't like asking and you don't like repeating the same "few months" answer over and over, so maybe just give us something we can easily check?

 

This makes interesting reading

https://www.creativebloq.com/features/imac-24-vs-imac-27

And then there's the GPU. This bit isn't even close to being a competition. The iMac M1's GPU is designed to be a powerful integrated graphics chip for a thin laptop. In a desktop, it's like bringing a banana to a gun fight.

 

Well my experiments running HDRP on a M1 were interesting, but I would describe them as being an interesting starting point with a lot of hints of the decent future potential of this platform, rather than a sensible match at this stage. I expect to be quite pleased by the GPU options of the next machines to come out of this transition to Apples own silicon. URP performance on the current M1s is quite good.

 

When comparing please provide a complete setup example, Unity version, computer rig, etc...

 

The M1 is their slowest chip, aimed at enthusiasts who would otherwise be using Intel i3 with integrated graphics. Considering that, it's very fast. Comparing it to desktop CPUs and NVIDIA graphics... yeah it's not amazing. Certainly not adequate for an HDRP project. We'll see next week at WWDC what they have planned for professional use.

 

Ok I was too hopeful for a Mac hardware announcement at WWDC21. We will find out in the fall (maybe?) what Apple has for pros!

 

here you go
https://forum.unity.com/threads/now-available-native-apple-silicon-editor-preview-builds.1122712/

 

The editor component is native(preview), but you but you still need Rosetta installed for parts of it

 

Seems it still needs a very long time to update all to native~

 

I think this is taking too much time. We need M1 support, it is very quickly becoming the standard (if not already)

 

We can't, we need LTS M1 builds such as 2019.4.22f1, we have many SDKs that can't be upgraded to even 2020 and that's not gonna change anytime soon

 

So from what I understand Unity runs on M1 using Rosetta apple’s code interpreter, there is no Unity compiled M1 build (Apple ARM Build) so it does not run natively. I can’t wait to get my developer iMac in 3-4 to test Unity natively if there was a build. My older MacBook Pro with only 16gb of ram was performing well but not as needed. My games are mobile so building to iOS is crucial for me. Creation times of building on unity then compiling on Xcode is time intensive. I need to increase the performance of “running”.

 

Good thing is that the new 27inch iMacs and MacBookPro's still aren't out yet. Really hope that M1 development will be fully there when that happens. Do you have a public timeline or ETA?

 

I think the key words there are "fully there". We're all thrilled that the builds are out, but I wouldn't call an alpha with missing/broken features and Rosetta dependencies "fully there". We know this is hard work and we're rooting for you!

 

I'm really pleased with the native Apple Silicon build. Yes, I know it's Beta (whoops - edit: Alpha!) but I've had no problems so far. The speed from Command-P to Play mode is a breath of fresh air, taking about 25 – 33% of the time in 2020.1.

Thank you, Unity – and Apple! Really enjoying the experience!

 

Yes. With fully I meant the complete package. Also 2019 and 2020 LTS support.

 

For those of you using Rider, they have an EAP version of 2021.2 with native Apple Silicon support out:

Apple Silicon (M1 chip) Support in Rider – Rider Support | JetBrains

 

I was able to get the Karting Demo working, after a very short stall. I forgot to hit "Continue" and installing was stuck on 99% Seems to be working extremely smooth on my M1 iMac. The Game in the editor runs flawless, period. From the screenshot you can see its <Metal> :] Unity your awesome guys!

 

Anyone wanna tip in on their experience so far? How long does recompile take after script changes etc.

 

Lots of people weighing in & posting comparisons here: https://forum.unity.com/threads/now...-silicon-editor-preview-builds.1122712/page-3

 

Hey All! any tip on how to improve the performance in-editor on the Macbook Air M1 8Gb ram?
Once I compile the project and run that version, that's smooth as hot butter, but navigating and even playing inside the editor seems very choppy.
While playing in-editor, the stats show me that it's working at 250 fps aprox (very simple scene), but the actual feel of it is very stuttery.
I'm using a 4k external monitor.
I' on version 2020.3.19

 

I've noticed that 2020 and 2021 are choppy in viewport even in empty project on Intel Mac, compared to 2019 Unity. Maybe it's not a problem of Apple Silicon build.

 

I recently upgraded to 2020.3.20 and felt that gameplay in editor was weirdly choppy even though it said 60fps. I downgraded back to 2020.3.17 and it's all buttery smooth again. I think maybe try staying at 2020.3.17.