Sneering skeptics who had zero faith in Apple’s gaming ambitions were likely taken aback after the Cupertino-based tech giant announced Game Mode on macOS Sonoma at WWDC 2023.
What, exactly, does Game Mode do? Let's say you're playing Resident Evil: Village on your 14-inch MacBook Pro. Without Game Mode, some background tasks may be consuming too much of your precious resources, including the CPU and GPU, which may affect the game's performance. With Game Mode, however, your game's access to the internals is prioritized. This should lead to smoother, more consistent frame rates.
It's also designed to reduce latency on AirPods, as well as Xbox and PlayStation controllers.
Apple took it one step further, announcing at WWDC 2024 that Game Mode is coming to iOS 18 (and iPadOS 18), too. Like macOS, iOS 18 Game Mode wags a finger at your background tasks for their excessive demand on the CPU and GPU — and does something about it.
Since the WWDC 2024 announcement, there are three little-known new enhancements coming to the next big OS updates that gamers may perceive as a green signal that Apple is ramping up support for gaming on its devices.
Game Mode tweak on macOS Sequoia
To clear up a common "Game Mode" misconception, it's not designed to give you a boost in frame rates per se. Instead, the frame rates should be more stable with Game Mode on. In other words, Game Mode aims to give gamers a steady experience, not necessarily a performance spike.
Secondly, you can't turn on Game Mode manually. Instead, the utility automatically detects that a game is playing, and Game Mode kicks in to ensure that your background tasks aren't a resource glutton.
I played Zenless Zone Zero on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, with iOS 18 Game Mode turned on, of course. I also played the not-yet-released Palworld on a 13-inch MacBook Air.
With Game Mode on, while playing Zenless Zone Zero, the stunning visuals were more fluid on the iPhone 15 Pro Max (compared to my iPhone 14 Plus sans iOS 18). Plus, the controls feel smoother, too, while I whooped enemies' butt in colorful, visually addictive combat.
Similarly, compared to Palworld sans Game Mode, Palworld on macOS Sequoia was a tinge more responsive with steadier visuals as I ran around the rugged terrain with my red-headed protagonist. By the way, Game Mode on macOS Sequoia got a slight update; it should now be more effective at minimizing background activity than the previous iteration.
New AirPods feature for gamers
Apple is bringing Apple AirPods' personalized spatial audio feature to games now. However, it will only be available on the AirPods Pro 2, and will offer 16-bit, 48kHz high-quality sound, specifically for the "voice chat" use case. As such, while you're streaming on Twitch, for example, or having a row with your gamer friends, audio should sound more crisp than ever.
Gamers will also experience reduced audio latency with this feature (on top of the lower latency you already get with Game Mode). This update will make your games feel more immersive and true-to-life.
Reduced storage requirements via Mac App Store
The downside of being a gamer is that many of the games you download can take up so much of your storage, leaving you with dwindling space for your day-to-day workflow.
Now, when it comes to installing mega-sized games, the space requirement has been significantly reduced, so gamers will have the opportunity to save more storage space than usual.
Gamers can also choose to install their game on an alternate disk.
Future of gaming for Mac users
All of these aforementioned new gaming-focused tweaks are expected to roll out this fall with the official launch of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia (likely alongside the expected iPhone 16 series).
Apple is also working on expanding its gaming portfolio for players. Some upcoming macOS games include Palworld, Frostpunk 2, Prince of Persia: The Last Crown, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Sniper Elite 4, and RoboCop: Rogue City, and more.
