Frequently Asked Questions

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Mandelbrot Metal is a next-generation fractal explorer app for iPhone and iPad. It lets you dive into the infinite beauty of the Mandelbrot set in real time, powered by Apple’s Metal GPU framework. With adaptive precision, vivid color palettes, and ultra-deep zooming, and 3D effects, it turns complex math into an interactive art experience you can explore, capture, and share.

Mandelbrot Metal is built differently. Instead of relying on older CPU-based methods, it uses Apple’s Metal graphics engine to deliver true real-time fractal rendering. You get smooth 60 FPS zooming, clean detail, and instant feedback even at extreme magnifications.

When you go really deep, the app automatically switches to a high-precision multi-core CPU mode that keeps going long after other apps stall or lose accuracy.

It also has one of the most advanced color systems available in any fractal app:

• 140+ curated palettes
• 768-step Ultra-Wide palettes
• Display-P3 and HDR color 
• Import-from-photo palette creation

Every bookmark is deterministic, meaning scenes render exactly the same on any device. And for creators, you can export images up to 8K with perfect gradients.

In short: It’s faster, deeper, more accurate, better colored, and easier to use than traditional fractal apps — designed for both artists and explorers.

With adaptive precision (32-bit, 64-bit, and 128-bit Double-Double math) plus perturbation techniques, you can currently explore magnifications up to 10¹⁶× — literally quadrillions of times deeper than the default view. Going forward, deeper zooming is planned. (see roadmap)

Yes. You can export captures up to 8K resolution, save them to Photos, copy them to the clipboard, print, or share directly to social apps. Mandelbrot Metal is designed to output professional-quality images. (See User Guide)

Ultra-Wide palettes use 768 color steps for ultra-smooth gradients and are labeled with “[UW]”. They’re especially effective in deep zooms where fine shading reveals hidden structure. Ultra-Wide palettes use 768 color steps for ultra-smooth gradients and are labeled with “[UW]”. They’re especially effective in deep zooms where fine shading reveals hidden structure. Other palettes use 256 steps. Learn more about palettes.

1024-tap LUT means the renderer creates a 1 × 1024 color table (1 row, 1024 columns). Each pixel’s normalized escape-value (0 → 1) is mapped to one of these 1024 discrete color samples, then optionally interpolated for smooth mode.

• If the source palette has 256 or 768 entries, it’s resampled to this internal 1024-sample table.
• This ensures consistent precision across all palettes and minimizes banding during zoom animations and deep renders.

Absolutely. You can scan gradients from your photos and other images in your Photos library. You're also able to exchange custom palettes with other users and with the community . Learn more about palettes.

Mandelbrot Metal makes it easy to share and exchange your discoveries. From Manage Bookmarks or Manage Palettes, simply swipe right on any item to reveal the Export button — or tap Export All to back up your entire collection. To import, tap the Import button at the top of the same sheet and select a file you’ve received via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, or Files.

Shared bookmarks include exact coordinates, zoom level, precision mode, palette, and rendering settings — so anyone who opens them sees the same fractal view you created. Shared palettes include the full gradient, name, and LUT precision (256 or 1024), ensuring color consistency across devices.

All exported files are universal, meaning you can freely exchange them between your iPhone and iPad or share them with other users. This also makes it easy to back up your collections for safekeeping.

A community sharing portal is coming soon, where you’ll be able to upload, browse, and download bookmarks and palettes from other explorers — creating a global space for discovering, exchanging, and showcasing fractal art.

No personal data is ever included in shared files — only the rendering parameters needed to reproduce the image precisely.

Mandelbrot Metal runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS/iPadOS 18.6 or later. Performance scales with your hardware — the latest models render faster and capture higher-resolution images.

Not yet. Right now, Mandelbrot Metal is built for iPhone and iPad, but macOS support is under consideration for the future. However, if you have a Mac with Apple silicon, you can run the iOS/iPadOS versions on your Mac right now.

The initial release focuses on the Mandelbrot set, but additional fractals (Julia sets, Burning Ship, Multibrot variants) are on the roadmap.

No. Rendering is fully on-device, powered by Apple’s Metal GPU framework. The only time you’ll need internet is for updates, optional beta feedback, or sharing online.

Fractal rendering is compute-intensive, but Mandelbrot Metal is optimized with adaptive iteration counts, GPU acceleration, and idle high-quality modes. On the latest Apple devices, you can explore for hours without overheating or rapid drain. 

Yes. You can save bookmarks with full zoom/position/palette/contrast settings and return to them instantly. Sharing of bookmarks is also available starting with version 1.1 (see How do I share or back up my bookmarks and palettes?).

Mandelbrot Metal 1.1 introduces full import/export support for both Bookmarks and Palettes, making it easy to share your favorite views and color sets between devices or with other users.

Bookmarks

• Go to Manage Bookmarks from Settings → Manage Bookmarks.
   
• Swipe right on any bookmark to reveal Export — this saves a .mmbkm file you can share via AirDrop, Mail, or Files.
   
• Tap Export All at the top of the sheet to back up your entire bookmark collection.
   
• On another device, tap Import to bring bookmarks back in.
  All coordinates, zoom levels, and rendering parameters are preserved exactly.

Palettes

• Go to Manage Palettes from Settings → Manage Palettes.
   
• Swipe right on any custom palette to Export it as a .mmpal file.
   
• Tap Export All to save every custom palette at once.
   
• Use the Import button at the top to bring palettes back or load shared ones from others.
  Built-in palettes remain intact; imports add to your custom list. 

Import from Photos

You can also create new palettes from any image:

• Tap the Import from Photo button (or photo icon) in Manage Palettes.
   
• Choose an image → Mandelbrot Metal analyzes its dominant colors to build a smooth gradient.
   
• The same image can be re-imported repeatedly without restarting the app. 

Whare are the Files Stored?

Exports are saved to the Files app under On My iPhone / Mandelbrot Metal (or iCloud Drive if enabled) with the prefix Bookmark- and extension .json.

You can open them from Files, Mail, or Messages and tap Open in Mandelbrot Metal to import.

Tips

• You can AirDrop these files directly between devices running Mandelbrot Metal.
   
• Always make sure you’re running v1.1 or later — earlier versions don’t recognize shared files.
   
• Imported items are additive; duplicates keep their original names.

The app is available now on the App Store for only $7.99 USD. Mandelbrot Metal will always be a one-time purchase, not a subscription.