Maxon's Redshift Now Available for macOS With Support for Metal and M1 Macs - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Maxon's Redshift Now Available for macOS With Support for Metal and M1 Macs

Maxon is bringing its GPU-accelerated renderer Redshift to macOS, with support for Apple's line of M1 Macs and Apple's Metal Graphics API for speedy performance on Apple's machines.

redshift for mac
Lunar Animation director James Rodgers says his company is seeing "crazy results" rendering with Redshift on a Mac Pro with Metal support. "A typical frame from the very effects heavy game cinematic we created for Mythic Legends, an action-packed strategy mobile game by Outfit7, previously took 26 minutes to render per frame," he said. "Now it's rendering in only 58 seconds!"

Redshift provides a wide range of features that include ray switches, flexible shading networks, motion blur, AOVs, deep output, and more. It is a biased renderer that allows artists to adjust each individual technique for the best performance and quality blend for production purposes.

Redshift is optimized for high-end performance on both Intel and ‌M1‌ Macs. Maxon says that Redshift for Intel-based Macs will be available this week, while Redshift for ‌M1‌ Macs will launch with the release of macOS Big Sur 11.3.

Popular Stories

iphone duo screen crack

Apple Responds to iPhone Duo Display Cracking Reports

Monday October 26, 2026 10:20 am PDT by
Shortly after the iPhone Duo launched, a few users reported hinge issues that were causing cracks in the inner display. Apple has now responded to the reports in a statement to MacRumors, saying a small number of units are affected. The response to iPhone Duo from early users has been incredibly positive, and we are seeing exciting things from developers who are rapidly updating their apps...
iPad mini OLED feature 1

Apple Announces New iPad Mini With 8.5-Inch OLED Display, A20 Pro Chip, and More

Monday October 26, 2026 6:05 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new iPad mini with a larger 8.5-inch OLED display, a nano-texture display option, a thinner and lighter design, an A20 Pro chip, a new Acoustic Display audio system that eliminates speaker holes, IP67-rated water and dust resistance, a landscape front camera, Apple's N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support, and more. Altogether, Apple says this amounts to the iPad...
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display family lineup feature

Apple Announces OLED MacBook Pro With Touch Display

Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:11 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new high-end MacBook Pro, which is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. The new device has a PROLED XDR display that supports touch gestures, and a glowing rear Apple logo. Pricing on the MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch model. Apple says the MacBook Pro has the "world's best display in a pro laptop." The PROLED...

Top Rated Comments

72 months ago

I find that rendering claim really suspect and misleading. What is he comparing it to? Redshift is a GPU renderer and the 3090 card is the most powerful GPU and the change from the 20 series to the 3090 didn't see that sort of improvement. Octane on macOS has been pretty sluggish and, although Redshift is faster, it's not THAT much faster.
Yeah, seems like there is some important information missing there. What hardware were they using for the previous 26 minutes per frame render? Were they even using Redshift at all for the 26 minute version, or a different renderer altogether with CPU instead of GPU rendering? Something is very fishy with that...
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
72 months ago

I find that rendering claim really suspect and misleading. What is he comparing it to?
Before they got Redshift on the Mac, they were rendering their frames by hand. They shipped the data files to rural China and a 100 women and children would render them on abacuses (keeping them carbon neutral) and send back the data. These people are super fast and can render a frame in 3 minutes, the rest of the time was sending the frames back and forth over the net. :-)
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ChrisMoBro Avatar
72 months ago
I find that rendering claim really suspect and misleading. What is he comparing it to? Redshift is a GPU renderer and the 3090 card is the most powerful GPU and the change from the 20 series to the 3090 didn't see that sort of improvement. Octane on macOS has been pretty sluggish and, although Redshift is faster, it's not THAT much faster.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kaisdaddy Avatar
72 months ago

Octane is amazing but reliability is a feature and it’s terrible in that respect. Redshift looks amazing, it’s fast and I know it’s not going to let me down. Whenever I go back to using Octane I realise how antiquated certain aspects of it are.
Agreed on Redshift stability compared to Octane but I still use the latter because it's so much easier to get great looking results compared to Redshift.

Now that Maxon owns it, maybe Redshift will get a UI overhaul that makes it more intuitive.
Until then, I'll keep using Octane knowing that it will crash from time to time but give me great looking output without requiring a PhD on my end.

Overall I'm just tickled that more than one 3rd party render engine supports Metal now.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
72 months ago

It's not apple's "amazing" hardware at work, it's code optimization. People here think the M1's have some legit graphics chips, lmao, it's about as good as the old as heck GTX 1050, which is pathetic in 2021.
Yeah, but M only seen on the lowest end macs to date.
I am giving Apple a chance with their more pro machines, but I still dont believe they will deliver anything like a 3080/90 level. Then I will happily bag them :).

In reality though I expect an above average gpu only, and nothing special in the forthcoming pro machines, with maybe the MacPro having some super expensive card thats good. The computers will most likely be great for FCP but not in 3D rendering like Octane and redshift. Alway love being proved wrong though.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
portland-dude Avatar
72 months ago

That's a crazy improvement!
It's not apple's "amazing" hardware at work, it's code optimization. People here think the M1's have some legit graphics chips, lmao, it's about as good as the old as heck GTX 1050, which is pathetic in 2021.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Latest Stories
MacBook Pro Mini-LED vs. OLED Buyer's Guide: Every Difference
MacBook Pro Mini-LED vs. OLED Buyer's Guide: Every Difference
59 minutes ago
Where to Pre-Order Apple's New MacBooks, iPad Mini, and iMac
Where to Pre-Order Apple's New MacBooks, iPad Mini, and iMac
2 hours ago
Apple Releasing HomePod Mini 2 Tomorrow With These New Features
Apple Releasing HomePod Mini 2 Tomorrow With These New Features
4 hours ago
How macOS Adapts Its Controls for Touch on the New MacBook Pro
How macOS Adapts Its Controls for Touch on the New MacBook Pro
4 hours ago
Just Got an iPhone Duo? Try These Features First
Just Got an iPhone Duo? Try These Features First
6 hours ago
Apple Announced Scott Forstall's Departure 14 Years Ago Today
Apple Announced Scott Forstall's Departure 14 Years Ago Today
7 hours ago
Best Buy Opens Pre-Orders for PROLED XDR MacBook Pro With $100 Bonus Gift Cards
Best Buy Opens Pre-Orders for PROLED XDR MacBook Pro With $100 Bonus Gift Cards
18 hours ago
Here's Everything Apple Announced This Week
Here's Everything Apple Announced This Week
18 hours ago
Here's a Real-World Look at the New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
Here's a Real-World Look at the New MacBook Pro's Glowing Apple Logo
19 hours ago
How Accurate Were Rumors About Apple's OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro?
How Accurate Were Rumors About Apple's OLED Touchscreen MacBook Pro?
19 hours ago
Apple Has 8 New Products Available for Pre-Order
Apple Has 8 New Products Available for Pre-Order
20 hours ago
iPhone Duo: Turn the Hinge Into an App Launcher
iPhone Duo: Turn the Hinge Into an App Launcher
21 hours ago
OLED MacBook Pro vs. Mini-LED MacBook Pro: Size and Weight Compared
OLED MacBook Pro vs. Mini-LED MacBook Pro: Size and Weight Compared
22 hours ago
Best Buy Offering Up to $100 Gift Cards With iPad Mini 8 and M6 MacBook Pro Pre-Orders
Best Buy Offering Up to $100 Gift Cards With iPad Mini 8 and M6 MacBook Pro Pre-Orders
22 hours ago
Adding Touch Didn't Cost the MacBook Pro Any Battery Life
Adding Touch Didn't Cost the MacBook Pro Any Battery Life
22 hours ago
Apple Releases Redesigned Mac Chargers and 'World Travel Adapter Kit'
Apple Releases Redesigned Mac Chargers and 'World Travel Adapter Kit'
22 hours ago
Apple Executives Explain Why the MacBook Pro Finally Has a Touch Screen
Apple Executives Explain Why the MacBook Pro Finally Has a Touch Screen
23 hours ago
New MacBook Pro Features Deeper Bass and Improved Closed-Lid Audio
New MacBook Pro Features Deeper Bass and Improved Closed-Lid Audio
23 hours ago
New MacBook Pro Offers Up to 16TB of Storage, Double Previous Limit
New MacBook Pro Offers Up to 16TB of Storage, Double Previous Limit
23 hours ago
Apple's New Touchscreen MacBook Pro Costs Up to $14,549
Apple's New Touchscreen MacBook Pro Costs Up to $14,549
23 hours ago
Apple Brings Dynamic Island to Mac for the First Time
Apple Brings Dynamic Island to Mac for the First Time
1 day ago
Mac Studio With M5 Ultra Now Available With 512GB RAM for $22,299
Mac Studio With M5 Ultra Now Available With 512GB RAM for $22,299
1 day ago
Illuminated Apple Logo Returns to MacBook Pro After 10 Years
Illuminated Apple Logo Returns to MacBook Pro After 10 Years
1 day ago
Apple Announces OLED MacBook Pro With Touch Display
Apple Announces OLED MacBook Pro With Touch Display
1 day ago
Apple Store Down Ahead of 'Pro and Tell' Launch Today
Apple Store Down Ahead of 'Pro and Tell' Launch Today
1 day ago
South Korea Rules Against Apple Over App Store Payment Rules
South Korea Rules Against Apple Over App Store Payment Rules
1 day ago
iOS 27.2 Adds Selfie-Based Age Verification
iOS 27.2 Adds Selfie-Based Age Verification
1 day ago
Beats 360 Get First Price Drop Alongside Return of Record Low for AirPods 4
Beats 360 Get First Price Drop Alongside Return of Record Low for AirPods 4
1 day ago
Apple Raises MacBook Neo's Starting Price to $649 on Education Store
Apple Raises MacBook Neo's Starting Price to $649 on Education Store
1 day ago
MacBook Studio?
MacBook Studio?
1 day ago