OpenGL vs Metal: which is better on Apple platforms?

Metal is faster and more efficient for Apple-only apps. OpenGL is better for projects that also target Windows, Linux, or Android.

Apple deprecated OpenGL on macOS and iOS in 2018, steering developers toward Metal, which launched in 2014 and remains the only graphics API with first-party Xcode debugging support.

When Metal clearly wins, and when OpenGL still holds up

Building a new Apple-only application

A game or app built only for macOS, iOS, or tvOS gains from Metal's lower driver overhead and direct access to the GPU command queue. Xcode's Metal debugger and shader profiler give developers visibility that OpenGL never had on Apple hardware.

Maintaining a cross-platform engine

An engine or app that also targets Windows, Linux, or Android still needs OpenGL, or a separate graphics layer such as Vulkan, since Metal has no equivalent outside Apple devices. Rewriting a shared renderer just for Apple platforms adds real maintenance cost.

Supporting an existing OpenGL codebase

Older projects built on OpenGL or OpenGL ES for iOS continue to run, since Apple still ships the deprecated frameworks. No further OpenGL updates or hardware-specific optimizations are planned, so the gap with Metal grows over time.

For a project committed to Apple hardware, moving to Metal removes a layer of abstraction and adds debugging tools OpenGL never had on the platform. For code that must run outside the Apple ecosystem, OpenGL or a cross-platform API remains the practical choice, deprecation aside.

Updated: 2026-07-21