Official Now Available - Native Apple Silicon Editor Preview Builds

Hi all,

Unity has been hard at work over the last many months creating a version of the Editor that runs natively on macOS hardware using Apple silicon. We’re happy to announce that we have a preview available for early adopters!

The preview is based on recent 2021.2 builds. We appreciate and encourage feedback from our community, including beta testers, plugin authors and package authors. Please send us your questions and make good use of the Editor's bug reporting feature. You can log bugs right in the Editor by selecting the “Help” menu, then selecting “Report a Bug”.

The Apple silicon Editor at this time can only be installed via standalone installers. Direct download links will be listed in this thread for each update. Additionally, for each release we will share a list of known issues.

We really appreciate our community and the passion of our users. We look forward to releasing a version of the Apple silicon Editor in the near future once we’ve resolved some remaining issues and feature gaps.

Thank you for your support! The first build will be published soon.

- The Unity Desktop Team


-------- Installation Instructions --------

Update: Please be aware that Rosetta is currently required. The Unity Editor process is fully native, but some auxiliary processes are still x86_64-based and require Rosetta to launch.

You can download Apple silicon editor from Unity 2021.2 beta page:

Once you’ve downloaded the Unity Editor package and any desired target support packages, you’ll see icons like this for each download:



The first package you install should be Unity.pkg. This installs the Editor. Once Unity.pkg is installed, you can install any other desired target support packages you downloaded previously.

You can install a package by double-clicking on the package icon. It’s possible that macOS may not be able to verify the package. If you see a dialog like the one below, you will need to override the verification check.


To override the verification check, context-click (right-click) the package and select “Open”.The verifier will run again, and now it will produce the same dialog as before, but with another option to open it:



Click the Open button and you should now be able to install Unity. The recommended install location is /Applications/Unity/

Licensing
The best way to activate your license is to install the Unity Hub and activate the license there.

Unity Hub
Starting with Unity Hub version 3, you can use the Hub to install Apple silicon builds. Make sure you select the release with the "Apple silicon" tag, not "Intel"!

 

Apple silicon Editor preview 2021.2.0a19 is available to download!

This is a preview build and will have bugs. Please report new issues in the editor by clicking the “Help” menu and selecting “Report a Bug”.

Known Issues

The CPU lightmapper causes the Apple silicon mac editor to crash
Importing an .mp4 or .mov crashes the Apple silicon mac editor
Apple Silicon Editor - Moving Timeline clip causes visual glitches
[GPU PLM][M1] Editor freezes during GI bake on Apple Silicon machine when certain lightmapping settings are used
[M1][macOS] Artifacts in Game and Scene view after opening certain a project on Apple Silicon machine
Plugin inspector in the editor doesn't allow selecting CPU architecture for editor plugins

• Workaround: Use universal binaries for native plugins

[iOS] Some files in WebGL and iOS support installers have changed permission from 2021.1.0a2

• Workaround for WebGL: sudo chmod +r /Applications/Unity/PlaybackEngines/WebGLSupport/BuildTools/lib/modules/* as well as sudo chmod +r /Applications/Unity/PlaybackEngines/WebGLSupport/BuildTools/lib/modules_development/*
  
  
• Workaround for iOS: sudo chmod +r /Applications/Unity/PlaybackEngines/iOSSupport/Trampoline/Libraries/*

Unity Editor and Build Target Download Links

Unity Editor for Apple silicon
Android Target Support
AppleTV Target Support
iOS Target Support
Linux IL2CPP Target Support
Linux Mono Target Support
Mac IL2CPP Target Support
WebGL Target Support
Windows Mono Target Support
Documentation

 

wow.. much appreciated

 

For anyone wanting to use this without installing Hub (e.g. not wanting to install Rosetta 2), follow these instructions for activating your license https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/ManualActivationGuide.html

 

After installing the editor I clicked to create a new project - nothing happens!

 

Thanks for getting back to me and for porting the Editor.

I installed Unity.pkg, activated the license manually, and when running it I get the option to Open a project or Create an empty one. I clicked to create an empty one, selected the location, and then nothing happens. I do see a project directory with Assets, Logs, and Temp directories though.

 

Seems stable from first impressions. Substance plugin is broken but that's something Allegorithmic will have to fix. Otherwise it loaded my huge HDRP project just fine.

Loading the editor is twice as fast, code compilation is twice as fast. Opening most menus is instant and play-mode performance is increased by 15ms!

 

@VideoTutorial, does the dialog stay there, or disappear? Is the Unity process running?

 

Upon opening Unity:



After selecting "Create empty project" and Choosing a location the dialog disappears. Unity appears to still be running in the Dock:




and in Activity Monitor:




At the selected location:



I hope this helps. I'm looking forward to using this. I don't have Rosetta 2 installed (nor do I want to install it) which is why I'm after this native editor!

 

@VideoTutorial, unfortunately running Unity without Rosetta at all isn't something we support, nor have we tested such a configuration. We don't have any machines without Rosetta, and there are still portions of Unity that run in external processes that are still x86_64. Though we are planning to remove those over time so all processes launched by Unity are native.

I will update the thread to post Rosetta as a requirement as I wasn't aware it could even be removed.

It would help us quite a bit if you could PM me your Editor.log file (found in ~/Library/Logs/Unity/Editor.log) as it's possible this issue is not related to a non-Apple silicon process.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience!

By play-mode performance is increased by 15ms, do you mean CPU time is reduced by 15ms per frame? Or did you mean something else?

Also, how are assembly reload times vs non-native? I'm stuck on an aging MacBook Pro and desperate for faster editor performance, seriously considering just picking up a Mac Mini now that there are native preview builds of both Unity Editor and Rider...

 

I believe the compiler is way faster than the non-native m1 version, very impressive!

 

YES! Kudos to the team!

 

First build: 4x faster on both rebuilding the project and domain reload on my 13" MBP!

 

Ah, so it is just the Editor component which is native. It's worth clarifying that Rosetta 2 isn't something that is removed, it is something that is optionally installed. Apple Silicon devices do not come with it installed - you receive a prompt to install it upon trying to run binaries compiled for intel/osx.

 

Oh I didn’t check that closely. My framerate went from averaging around 20 FPS to 32. This is likely CPU time gained, but I think the 32 is GPU bottlenecked so might be even more in some projects.

 

After installing and linking the binary to the Hub, I create a new project but whatever project template I use (URP, 3D, ...) Unity starts and then crashes complaining about a missing template in the binary package.

 

Nice! can someone run this script on an empty project and tell me what compile times you get?
https://pastebin.com/GeBm4vMT

1. now you got a new editor window under Window: Compile Times. You need to open that Compile time window and leave it open, otherwise it wont work.
   
   
2. Create a empty new c# script and hit enter. unity starts the compiling process. And now you should have in the console something like this: "Script compilation time:1.532s" - this is the thing I wanna see Do it a few times. at the first try the time can be 4-5 seconds. after 2 or 3 attempts you should have a constant value
   

 

Opening a project

 

Not sure if it's just me, but that script doesn't work for me. Compile + reload times are roughly halved from what I can see, which is the difference between pleasant and intolerably painful here!

 

Installed Rosetta 2 to make it work. Crashes with "Obtained 0 stack frames" randomly.

 

do you have some compile errors? or what's the issue?
you need to open up the compile times window(Window: Compile Times) and just dock it somewhere visible, create a new c# script and hit enter. in the console you will see now a "Script compilation time:1.532s"

 

Keen on the compile times aswell. On my laptop that script gave me 2.5 seconds in a blank project (windows/surface tho, no m1)

 

I'm just getting this weird issue, but otherwise it's MILES better! Great work, and keen to see this get fleshed out over time

Code (CSharp):

1. InvalidOperationException: You are trying to read Input using the UnityEngine.Input class, but you have switched active Input handling to Input System package in Player Settings.
2. UnityEngine.Input.get_mousePosition () (at <dd032f754c174f26a8133777d0582284>:0)
3. UnityEngine.UI.MultipleDisplayUtilities.GetMousePositionRelativeToMainDisplayResolution () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.ugui@1.0.0/Runtime/UI/Core/MultipleDisplayUtilities.cs:40)
4. UnityEngine.EventSystems.BaseInput.get_mousePosition () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.ugui@1.0.0/Runtime/EventSystem/InputModules/BaseInput.cs:75)
5. UnityEngine.EventSystems.StandaloneInputModule.UpdateModule () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.ugui@1.0.0/Runtime/EventSystem/InputModules/StandaloneInputModule.cs:178)
6. UnityEngine.EventSystems.EventSystem.TickModules () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.ugui@1.0.0/Runtime/EventSystem/EventSystem.cs:452)
7. UnityEngine.EventSystems.EventSystem.Update () (at Library/PackageCache/com.unity.ugui@1.0.0/Runtime/EventSystem/EventSystem.cs:467)

 

Too many errors/crashes for me at the moment - good to see some progress still. I'll be using an older version for now!

 

@VideoTutorial, I've updated the instructions with a note about Rosetta. Thanks for your feedback!

 

Never mind, got it to work. Was trying to make it work by editing scripts, instead of adding new ones.

this editor, total scripts at start: 4
Stablised at 3.5-4 seconds to compile scripts

2021.1.10, total scripts at start: 9
Stabliised at 10-11 seconds to compile scripts

M1 MBP, 8GB RAM. Running on battery power, which probably doesn't help!

 

Anyone mind elaborating on the advantage of this? What's the performance increase?

 

"this editor, total scripts at start: 4
Stablised at 3.5-4 seconds to compile scripts"

thanks! that's interesting! really good but i somehow expected more since the m1 geekbench single core score is 1700. my i7 windows laptop got a score of 1500 and complies around 1.5 seconds - i was expecting a bit more tbh. wonder whats the bottleneck?

 

The entire editor isn't entirely native and some processes still require rosetta. We might just see better performance gains when a fully stable version comes out

 

In the context of this thread on script compilation, the process is entirely native. If you believe there are performance problems, please log a bug and let us know!

 

It would be nice to test, but can't download the Unity.pkg, or to be exact, it stops just after downloading and shows this 'Verifying File' text and this loading animation. Tried few times now with latest Chrome. Or maybe this 'verifying' step just takes hours or something? Is there any mirrors or anything, where I could download this file 'normally'?

 

The verifying step shouldn't take hours. In fact, it should appear in your downloads like a normal download, despite the cryptic text on the web page. What you are seeing is the behavior we observed when using Safari.

Luckily, using this page for the editor .pkg isn't our permanent solution. Let me see if I can get a better solution to use as a stopgap.

 

Finally! Glad to see native M1 build!
Starts fine on new project (only tried 2D), but freezes or crashes on my game.
Attached log and crash logs I had.

 

Got the download working using Chrome's 'adult mode'. Installed and tried quickly. Editor feels more snappy than the 'normal' one and also tried loading my old project and everything works without any problems. Also script compilation times are noticeable faster! I hope that you can push this Silicon version to production ready for 2021 LTS release!

I need to find time to use it a bit more, but just for quick test, it feels very good!

(btw. I'm using this new mini mac M1 with 16gb memory)

 

Yes, so pleased about this! The editor feels much snappier, and getting a lot better performance in play mode in every scene I have tested!

I noticed that HDRP diffusion profiles aren't working by default, and the profiles need to be re-selected for every material. This can be seen on the foliage in the glass box in the demo scene.

Also, volumetric clouds aren't working and say "target not supported", but this might just be macOS in general.

 

Actually managed to launch the editor with project, after a lot of import crashes. Was removing problematic textures and it finally opened up.

Will need Burst on M1 to actually be able to use it!

Edit: Confused Burst with Jobs. Just commented it out for now, but burst spamming errors and I can't seem to remove its package because it is a dependency.

For some reason a lot of sequence of Awake/Start that worked before now is all mixed up and I have to wrangle it back into working sequence.

 

What editor version are you using on your non-M1 device? I performed the test as outlined on my 2018 Intel MacBook Pro (geekbench ~1000) and it took 2.3s on Unity 2020.3 LTS, 3.5s on Unity 2021.1 stable, and 4.4s on Unity 2021.2 alpha. So, I'm not sure how much we can read into these results, unless you're comparing exactly apples-to-apples on editor versions.

 

This is indeed a very good point. I made the test on my windows machine with unity 2019lts. I will make another test with 2021.2 later on. Thanks for bringing that up!


//EDIT:
made a test - windows 10, 10th gen i9:

2019: Script compilation time:1.772s
2020: Script compilation time:1.867s
2021: Script compilation time:3.235s

this THIS puts the m1 into a new light for me, thanks for bringing that up!

started a new thread: https://forum.unity.com/threads/compile-times-twice-as-long-then-previous-versions.1123711/

 

T

Took 2.5 - 3 seconds on my M1 MBA 8gb. Not exactly a huge difference but felt it was worth mentioning

 

ok i just see your c file, interesting... i have to see how works mine
"Script compilation time:6.314s" mine i7 4th generation xD
this time it depends on how much lines have the script modified?

 

You have to run this script - https://pastebin.com/GeBm4vMT in an empty project. That will add the 'Compile Times' window.

 

Nice !

 

For some reason a lot of sequence of Awake/Start that worked before now is all mixed up and I have to wrangle it back into working sequence.
Might be my just project, or some kind of change from 2020.1?

Is EditorApplication.playModeStateChanged broken? Doesn't seem to fire on state changes.

 

What are the plans for backporting the apple silicon editor? to 2020 or even 2019?

 

We haven't announced any plans at this point. We're focused on getting a great experience in 2021 before we evaluate previous releases .

 

Anyone else getting repeated crashes?