Apple Silicon Mac Support
MisutaaAsriel
Directions
- Open App Store Connect
- Select VRChat for iOS
- Navigate to the TestFlight tab
- For each group selected in the sidebar, under Test iPhone and iPad apps on Macs with Apple siliconclickEnable
Per instructions here: https://developer.apple.com/help/app-store-connect/test-a-beta-version/test-iphone-and-ipad-apps-on-macs-with-apple-silicon
Motivation
Apple Silicon Macs can
run unmodified iOS and iPadOS software
without needing build support, Catalyst, or a separate Mac build. By allowing Apple Silicon Macs to test VRChat for iOS, this would allow a Desktop Mode experience for Mac users in which they can provide valuable feedback in regards to core features and stability, whilst having additional RAM at their disposal which will negate resource issues.Additionally, iOS world and avatar creators who also develop on Mac within this beta would have the ability to near-instantly test their content, without having to switch devices, giving creators a better testing environment, and improving the pace of iteration. This would be a net-positive for creators on Mac.
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Tsuikyu
Ironically, cluster, a competitor to VRChat, has supported macOS and iOS since 2017, despite using the same Unity engine. This means that VRChat, an American platform, is nearly eight years behind the Japanese platform cluster in terms of macOS support.
Continuing to rely exclusively on the Windows ecosystem may not cause immediate problems for VRChat in the short term. However, in the long run, this limitation is likely to result in losses for both users and businesses within the VRChat ecosystem.
I hope that VRChat will once again become a leading pioneer in shaping a new golden age of Silicon Valley.
Tsuikyu
I sincerely and earnestly hope for the opportunity to use VRChat in desktop mode on macOS and in VR mode on Apple Vision Pro.
If Easy Anti Cheat were to support macOS in the same way that Proton enabled compatibility for Linux, it should be technically feasible.
For many years, macOS has been a preferred platform among a wide range of creators. A significant number of music producers and DJs rely on the Mac for their work, including well known artists such as Calvin Harris, Kygo, Pharrell Williams, Swedish House Mafia, J. Cole, and Ayase from YOASOBI.
In addition, Apple has recently introduced game development kits for both macOS and visionOS. Considering that these kits share the same foundations used for game development, and given that VRChat already supports iOS, a port to macOS and visionOS appears to be relatively achievable.
For these reasons, I believe there is a clear alignment between the philosophy of VRChat, expressed as Create, Share, Play, and broader platform support that includes macOS.
Apple Vision Pro also incorporates the same M4 chip used in desktop Macs. This means it could technically access the same worlds as desktop mode, providing a level of convenience that surpasses the Quest in some respects.
I sincerely hope that this message reaches the VRChat development team in California.
MisutaaAsriel
Tsuikyu
>
If Easy Anti Cheat were to support macOS in the same way that Proton enabled compatibility for Linux, it should be technically feasible.
>
...given that VRChat already supports iOS, a port to macOS and visionOS appears to be relatively achievable.
I'm sure with time they'll probably expand to these platforms. The iOS client at least gives them a firm base, and any iOS content will be in theory compatible! But Vision & Mac OS both will, sadly, need distinct clients, and likely a lot of work to support.
EAC only gained ARM64 Windows support in August of this year, for example. Unity also limited foveated rendering and other techniques to scripted render pipelines such as the Universal Render Pipeline, meaning VRChat would lose out on some modern performance enhancing features on VisionOS.
A lot of this is on Unity, too. They don't support the iOS runtime of Mac/Vision OS properly, and consider this intentional. They also do not support Catalyst, which streamlines building Mac applications out of iOS projects. So there's extra work to be done just to get things going.
So, it is achievable, relative to "make a whole Mac port from scratch", but it's a lot harder than it should be.
kymieee
was looking to get a new mac to use instead of my old windows laptop, im so disappointed to hear this isn't currently support. this is a must have in my books
M Ξ I
Echoing the desire for this!
MisutaaAsriel
Unity is aware of the bugs stopping macOS support,
but they only acknowledge their latest version of the editor, not the version used by VRChat.
If people could make some noise and push for this to be brought to the LTS, maybe Unity will notice?
Macintoshic
i would love to sell off my windows PC in favor of a mac, i use a MBA M2 16gb ram, but i would be happy to get a mac studio with a m4 max for gaming. i do everything else on my mac and the only reason i still own a windows PC is only because of VRChat.
Tsuikyu
Macintoshic I agree, I want to go back to Mac convenience too. I sold my M2 Mac for VRChat and switched to x86 Windows.
MisutaaAsriel
To note: Mac support in the iOS build is on staff's radar, per one of the developers. However, a blocking issue in Unity with iOS applications on Apple Silicon Macs and how it detects the platform prevents them from running it without crashing or weird bugs.
Whilst they do purportedly have ideas in mind on ways they
could
fix this, that would require some level of work in supporting macOS, which they are not ready to do, even in an unofficial capacity, at the time I spoke with them. So barring Unity themselves fixing this issue, there won't be Mac support, even for the iOS build, at this time.Definitely leave your support and feedback though! It helps them know if this is worth pursuing down the road!
空空空zzZ
I sincerely hope I can use my MacBook to play VRChat and see my friends in VRChat one day.
ひやかけ⁄Hiyakake
私もmacOSでiOS版のVRCが動作することを強く望んでいます。
デスクトップ版と同じユーザー体験ができるべきだと思います。
それはmacOSのためでなく、iPadにキーボード付きケースを接続して利用したいユーザーにとっても意味があるでしょう。
M1以降のチップであればQuest対応ワールドをプレイするには十分すぎる性能です。
I also strongly hope that the iOS version of VRC will work on macOS.
I think you should have the same user experience as the desktop version.
It is not for macOS, but also for users who want to connect a keyboard case to the iPad and use it.
If it is an M1 or later chip, the performance is more than enough to play Quest-compatible worlds.
CharmanDrigo
In theory this would be the first step to have a build of VRchat for apple vision pro, since the AVP has a M2 processor, question is if a Mac version that happens to be native handles well the pc limits
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