How to play Apex Legends on Mac
Apex Legends is a multiplayer battle royale game that may not have official support for Mac, but that hasn’t stopped us from finding ways to jump into its adrenaline-pumping action. We tested two cloud gaming platforms and local gaming methods to see how they fare in bringing this high-octane game to Mac users. Here’s our take, comparing the experience and the performance we got on a specific Mac model. First, however, you may want to take a look at the methods and their instructions.
Boosteroid is an independent cloud gaming platform that integrates all major vendors to its service and excels in adding support for the latest titles before other platforms. Read our review on Boosteroid. Look at our Boosteroid list of games.
Editor’s choice: we recommend Boosteroid as a starting point for most Mac users because of its plug-and-play nature and overall performance. It is especially useful for its constant 60 FPS even on modern titles while not causing your Mac to overheat or requiring tens of gigabytes of storage.
Features: Constant 1080p/60 FPS; Stable connection; Low bandwidth requirements (15 MBPS); Huge gaming library with all the latest AAA titles
GeForce Now is the most well-known cloud gaming service at the moment, and it also has the biggest gaming library out there. Additionally, this is the only cloud gaming service that currently features a free option.
Features:
- A free (albeit limited) subscription plan.
- Ability to play with 4K and 120 FPS and use RTX technology with its Ultimate plan.
- Supports upwards of 1500 games.
Boot Camp Assistant is a built-in Apple app that comes pre-installed on Intel-based Mac models. With its help, users can install the Windows 10 OS in a separate partition on their Macs. Booting from that partition allows the Mac to function exactly as a Windows PC and lets it run all compatible software.
Note: Not available for Apple Silicon models.
Features:
- Provides native Windows 10 experience.
- Allows running all Windows-compatible programs and games as long as the Mac’s hardware can support them.
Our Apex Legends Mac Experience with Cloud Gaming
Apex Legends Mac performance with Boosteroid
Our first stop in the cloud gaming world was Boosteroid. Our internet speed of 40 Mbps, fitting well above Boosteroid’s minimum requirement of 15 Mbps, provided us with a relatively smooth gaming experience. The game streamed at 1080p resolution and 60 FPS, which for Apex Legends, was more than sufficient. Sure, there were a couple of hiccups likely caused by internet lag spikes, but these were few and far between. The gameplay was stable for the most part, and we even celebrated a few victories, proving that casual gamers can thoroughly enjoy Apex Legends on Mac via Boosteroid.
Apex Legends Mac performance with GeForce Now
Next, we tested GeForce Now, with its slightly higher internet speed requirement of 25 Mbps. Our experience was similar to that with Boosteroid, though we noticed that the image quality recovery post-lag spikes took a tad longer. However, this didn’t significantly impact our gameplay. The customization options in the GeForce Now client were a bonus, allowing us to fine-tune the stream for an even smoother experience. Both platforms delivered a commendable performance, with Boosteroid edging out slightly due to its more lenient internet requirements.
Apex Legends for Mac With Boot Camp
Mac users with Intel chips can use Boot Camp as an alternative to cloud gaming. We tested this method using a 2016 MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM. After a two-hour setup to install Windows, we were ready to play Apex Legends for Mac. To our surprise, the game ran quite well on this older Mac model, maintaining around 40 FPS on low settings despite the laptop’s temperature rising significantly.
Apex Legends for Mac: Weighing Boot Camp Against Cloud Gaming
The choice between Boot Camp and cloud gaming services like Boosteroid and GeForce Now boils down to your specific circumstances. If you’re dealing with a less-than-ideal internet connection, Boot Camp might be worth exploring, despite its lengthy setup and significant storage space requirement. For Apex Legends, a game that’s not overly demanding, older and less powerful Macs can still offer a respectable performance, based on what we experienced. However, for those seeking convenience and minimal setup, coupled with decent internet, cloud gaming services are the preferable route.
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