The OpenJDK Quality Group is promoting the testing of FOSS projects with OpenJDK builds as a way to improve the overall quality of the release. This heads-up is part of the quality outreach sent to the projects involved. To learn more about the program, and how-to join, please check here.

Metal Is Now the Default Rendering Pipeline on macOS

On macOS, the default JavaFX rendering pipeline has been switched to Metal since JavaFX 27 Early Access (EA) build 3. Metal provides improved performance and better compatibility on modern hardware.

The Metal pipeline was implemented under JDK-8271024 in JavaFX 26 as an optional pipeline, with the OpenGL-based ES2 pipeline as the default. Starting with JavaFX 27 EA build 3, Metal is now the default rendering pipeline on macOS.

JavaFX 27 EA builds are now available for download and testing. You can share your feedback on the openjfx-dev list (registration required), through JBS or bugreport.java.com.

If you need to revert to the previous ES2 pipeline, you can do so by adding the option -Dprism.order=es2 to your Java command.

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References to metal blogs published earlier:

• Quality Outreach Heads-up - JavaFX 26: Temporary Switch to macOS Metal Rendering Pipeline
• Quality Outreach Heads-up - New macOS JavaFX Metal Early-Access builds

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