macOS Monterey to Offer Smoother Gameplay With Support for Adaptive-Sync Displays on Newer Macs

As part of WWDC this week, Apple revealed that newer Macs will be gaining support for Adaptive-Sync external displays with variable refresh rates in macOS Monterey.

macos monterey adaptive sync displays recenter
Apple says Adaptive-Sync displays will be supported on any Mac with Apple silicon, like the M1 chip, as well as "many" recent Intel-based Macs. When a supported Adaptive-Sync display is connected to a compatible Mac, users will be able to enable Adaptive-Sync mode by selecting a new variable refresh rate option in System Preferences > Displays.

Adaptive-Sync is a feature of the DisplayPort 1.2a specification, and it serves as the foundation of popular variable refresh rate display technologies like AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, which will now be supported on newer Macs.

Macs gaining support for Adaptive-Sync displays will be particularly beneficial to gamers, as these displays can actively adjust their refresh rate to match a game's frame rate, providing smoother, lower-latency gameplay. Apps or games must be running in full-screen mode on macOS Monterey for Adaptive-Sync mode to function, according to Apple.

macOS Monterey is available now in beta for developers, with a public beta to follow in July. The software update will be released in the fall.

Related Forum: macOS Monterey

Popular Stories

2007 iPhone

Apple Discontinuing This 18-Year-Old iPhone Feature

Saturday February 8, 2025 3:51 pm PST by
The end of an 18-year era is on the horizon for the iPhone. Apple reportedly plans to announce a new iPhone SE as soon as next week, and the device is expected to feature a full-screen design with Face ID, instead of a Touch ID home button. That means Apple will no longer sell any new iPhone models with a home button, for the first time since the original iPhone launched. The home button...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive an All-New Perk

Thursday February 6, 2025 11:21 am PST by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. iCloud+ is the official name for Apple's paid iCloud storage plans, which range from 50GB for $0.99 per month to 12TB for $59.99 per month in the United States. iCloud+ plans already come with multiple perks for free, such as Hide My Email and HomeKit Secure Video, and now there is another one...
oppo find n5 fingers

World's Thinnest Foldable Phone Launches Next Week

Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US. The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
imac video apple feature

Apple to Announce New Products Next Week

Saturday February 8, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple has yet to release any new devices in 2025, but at least two new products are expected to be announced next week, according to rumors. Below, we outline the new Apple products that are likely to be unveiled next week. iPhone SE 4 Apple plans to announce the long-rumored iPhone SE 4 as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The new iPhone SE is rumored to...
iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Will Include These New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday February 5, 2025 7:15 am PST by
iOS 18.3 was released last month, so the first iOS 18.4 beta should be coming soon. iOS 18.4 is expected to be a more substantial update for the iPhone, with several new features and changes related to Apple Intelligence and beyond. Apple's website suggests that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, following beta testing. Below, we outline what to expect from the update so far. Apple...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple

Apple Increases Mac Trade-In Values for a Limited Time

Sunday February 9, 2025 3:53 pm PST by
Apple today increased its estimated trade-in values for select Mac models in the United States, with the full changes outlined below. Apple says the extra trade-in credit for select Macs is available with the purchase of an eligible new Apple device through April 2. The trade-in values increased by between $10 and $50. Model New Value Old Value MacBook Pro Up to $925 ...
m2 macbook air blue

M4 MacBook Air Release Continues to Appear Imminent

Monday February 10, 2025 10:56 am PST by
There continue to be signs of a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip, indicating that we could see the machine launch in the not too distant future. A private account on X today shared the identifiers that the MacBook Air will use, and those identifiers correspond to the M4 chip. According to the source, both the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with Apple's...
Powerbeats Pro 2 Orange

Powerbeats Pro 2 Given to Customer Early, Expected to Debut Tomorrow

Monday February 10, 2025 7:42 am PST by
Apple's long-awaited Powerbeats Pro 2 are finally expected to be announced this Tuesday. Ahead of time, one lucky Walmart customer was able to get their hands on the earbuds early, according to a since-deleted Reddit post over the weekend. A leaked image of the Powerbeats Pro 2 in Electric Orange "My local Walmart had them in the cage," the Reddit user explained. "I asked if I can buy them...

Top Rated Comments

Freeangel1 Avatar
48 months ago
Is there gonna be a surge in Mac games with Apple Silicon? Because there are not many out there now.
And you just lost the ability to install Windows on an M1 Chip Machine. Thats where all the games are at.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
48 months ago
There are no AAA games for Mac (Battlefield, Cyberpunk, COD, etc). It's a nice feature.... but, pointless.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
l0stl0rd Avatar
48 months ago
not sure what the point is unless developers make games.

The M1 is mediocre with gtx 1060 like performance.

This is only worth it if we get AAA games and an M1x with like 3070-3080 performance.

Probably better off to buy a PS5 if I could find one lol.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
48 months ago

Is there gonna be a surge in Mac games with Apple Silicon? Because there are not many out there now.
And you just lost the ability to install Windows on an M1 Chip Machine. Thats where all the games are at.
There may be. Now you can write a game for mac and have a much larger potential audience than before (both because mac sales have increased, and because your game can also run on recent iPads if you code it right)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
killramos Avatar
48 months ago

There are no AAA games for Mac (Battlefield, Cyberpunk, COD, etc). It's a nice feature.... but, pointless.
All the people who keep being “blown away” by M1 would be turned a hilarious shade of purple at the dismal FPS they would get on M1 hardware compared to what true dedicated graphics on PC is able to generate.

this will make for a great angry birds experience though!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
blazerunner Avatar
48 months ago

There are/were... for example, Tomb Raider (save for the 3rd) is available. Older ones especially... Borderlands 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Bioshock, Guild Wars 2, among others... it's dried up again as of late.

But to that point, if they want to see more of them... open up some GPU support. The M1 smokes Intel Integrated Graphics, but that's barely setting the bar above floor level and isn't a good long term solution. The move to ARM instructions should be their opportunity to jump into the field and court some development. Maybe kiss and make up with Nvidia, since they control ARM itself now -- that might hasten some development for actual drivers on ARM instead of the current home-brew ones.
How many of those games still work with Catalina / Big Sur? Most of my games in steam are no longer compatible thanks to 32bit support being gone.

The problems with Macs and gaming is endless. It's an embarrassment to Apple.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)