Metal 4 support in iOS simulator

I'm updating our app to support metal 4, but the metal 4 types don't seem to get recognized when targeting simulator. Is it known if metal 4 will be supported in the near future, or am I setting up the app wrong?

Answered by DTS Engineer in 860581022

Hello,

Metal 4 is expected to work on the Simulator with iOS 26.

Given that this compiles on device and only fails to compile on Simulator this is a regression.

Try importing Metal i.e. import Metal to see if that solves the problem.

You can also see if this compiles with Obj-C.

Otherwise please send us a bug report.

Thank you for sharing your post. However, I believe you did not provide sufficient details for others to provide a meaningful response to your question. Could you please specify the version of Xcode, Simulator, or macOS you are using when targeting the simulator? Additionally, do you mean that the simulator is compatible with your device?

Here are a few suggestions that might help it attract more attention:

  • Provide more details: Expanding on your post to include any error messages, code snippets, steps you've already taken to troubleshoot, and the expected/actual outcomes would be very helpful.
  • Be specific about your technology stack: Clearly state the programming languages, frameworks, or tools you are using.
  • Check for duplicates: Before posting, make sure your question hasn't been asked before. You can use the search bar to find similar threads.

I'm sure someone in the community will be able to help once you have a chance to update your post.

Resources about metal 4 from WWDC 25:

https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/205/

Albert Pascual
  Worldwide Developer Relations.

Ah sorry for the lack of details, thanks for addressing this issue. Here's a swift code snippet to reproduce this issue:

import MetalKit

class MetalTestView: MTKView {
    var commandBuffer: MTL4CommandBuffer?
    var commandQueue: MTL4CommandQueue?
}

If you build with a real device selected, such as iPhone 14 with iOS 26 beta installed, the build succeeds, but if you build with iPhone 17 simulator with iOS 26, the build fails and complains that "Cannot find type 'MTL4CommandBuffer/MTL4CommandQueue' in scope". Any way to get the simulator to recognize metal 4 types?

Accepted Answer

Hello,

Metal 4 is expected to work on the Simulator with iOS 26.

Given that this compiles on device and only fails to compile on Simulator this is a regression.

Try importing Metal i.e. import Metal to see if that solves the problem.

You can also see if this compiles with Obj-C.

Otherwise please send us a bug report.

Thanks for the details regarding this. I tried import Metal in the swift test, as well as the following Objective C test code:

#import "ViewController.h"
#import "Metal/Metal.h"

@interface ViewController ()

@property id<MTL4CommandBuffer> commandBuffer;
@property id<MTL4CommandQueue> commandQueue;

@end

@implementation ViewController

- (void)viewDidLoad {
    [super viewDidLoad];
    // Do any additional setup after loading the view.
}

@end

No dice with this either. I'll file the bug, thanks for looking into this!

Thank you for letting us know and appreciate the bug report as this is a serious concern.

Metal 4 support in iOS simulator
 
 
Q