At WWDC 2022, Apple announced its latest graphics framework, "Metal 3." This includes Apple's upscaling solution "MetalFX," which allows GPUs to deliver better graphics performance. Until now, this MetalFX was believed to be developed in-house by Apple, but it turns out that this isn't the case, according to a report by Notebookcheck. As a result of the site's review of the app's legal information, it was revealed that this solution is based on AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) technology.
Apple Integrated AMD's Open-Sourced FSR Into Its Own Technology
AMD has released FSR under the open-source MIT license. This license only requires companies to acknowledge that they are using FSR, and nothing else is required in return. In accordance with this, Apple has clearly stated its use of FSR.
This fact is likely a good sign for AMD, Apple, and gamers alike. For example, FSR 3, which was recently made open source, and its frame generation feature will likely also be made available on Apple's platforms, further improving performance capabilities on Apple silicon.
Many AAA games for Windows, Xbox, and PlayStation, such as 'Assassin's Creed Mirage,' 'Baldur's Gate 3,' 'Cyberpunk 2077,' 'Death Stranding,' and 'The Medium,' use FSR. Since Apple's MetalFX is based on FSR, it's easier for developers to port these titles to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. This is likely why Capcom was able to quickly port 'Resident Evil 4' and 'Resident Evil Village' to the iPhone 15 Pro series and some models of the iPad Pro and iPad Air.
If Apple can implement the now open-source Frame Generation from FSR 3 into MetalFX, it would also be a good sign for the future of Apple's platforms in the gaming space.
The implementation of FSR 3's frame generation is beginning to show favorable results compared to DLSS 3's frame generation in 'Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.' In addition to this, Apple's MetalFX is already able to leverage onboard AI hardware acceleration, so as long as Apple remains committed to maintaining MetalFX, this should help keep Apple's upscaling competitive.
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