Mandelbrot Metal is a high-performance fractal explorer for iPhone and iPad, built entirely on Apple’s Metal® graphics and compute frameworks. It renders the Mandelbrot set — and related fractals — in real time with smooth, ultra-deep zooming up to ~10¹⁶× magnification.

A precision GPU compute engine, a modern SwiftUI interface, and a professional-grade color system combine to deliver an experience that blends mathematics, art, and high-end graphics engineering. Reviewers can explore intricate structures, adjust detail and iteration depth, and switch instantly among 150+ curated color palettes, including 50+ Ultra-Wide 768-step palettes engineered for exceptionally smooth tonal transitions.

Deterministic bookmarks store exact coordinates and rendering parameters, while high-resolution export supports publication-ready stills up to 8K resolution.

Mandelbrot Metal is part visualizer, part interactive art tool, and part GPU benchmark — designed to show what modern Apple hardware can do when pushed with purpose.

Most fractal apps use CPU rendering or minimal fragment shaders, which limit depth and responsiveness. Mandelbrot Metal is built from the ground up on dedicated Metal compute kernels, giving it a fully GPU-native architecture.

This enables:

• Fluid 60 FPS navigation in most scenes
• Crisp detail and stable gradients
• Instant response to pinch, pan, tilt, and palette changes

Every interactive update is handled directly on the GPU with minimal overhead.

When GPU precision reaches its mathematical ceiling, the app transitions into a multi-core CPU Deep Mode powered by double-double precision and progressive tiling.

Deep Mode maintains:

• True mathematical accuracy
• Stable visual results
• Full interactivity
• All CPU cores engaged
• Tile-by-tile refinement in real time
   

For reviewers evaluating precision, depth, or extreme magnification accuracy, this is one of the clearest differentiators.

Color quality is where fractal art succeeds or fails. Mandelbrot Metal uses a robust, photography-inspired system:

• 150+ hand-curated palettes
• 50+ Ultra-Wide 768-step palettes
• Display-P3 and HDR support
• Exact LUT + Smooth interpolation modes
• GPU-based dithering
• Photo-derived palette creation
   

Even at extreme zoom levels, gradients remain clean and band-free — a common failure point in other apps.

Every bookmark captures a complete, deterministic scene definition — not just coordinates.

This guarantees:

• Identical renders across devices 
• Identical renders across OS versions
• Identical renders when shared with other users
   

Perfect for reviewers who need reproducibility for comparisons, screenshots, or testing.

The export system supports:

• Stills up to 8K+ 
• Display-P3 and HDR output
• Exact LUT color fidelity
• Zero banding or posterization
   

Ideal for press kits, long-form reviews, and print-oriented publications.

The interface emphasizes clarity and stays unobtrusive:

• Floating toolbars
• Simple palette and bookmark access
• Clear indicators for iterations, zoom depth, and precision
• Intuitive 3D Look controls
• Optional HUD overlays
   

The result is a UI that requires almost no learning curve.

The app uses a modern, hardware-optimized tech stack:

• Swift + SwiftUI 
• Custom Metal compute kernels
• SIMD-optimized arithmetic
• Multi-core CPU fallback
• Perturbation rendering for extreme depths
   

This is not a legacy-era fractal engine; it’s a showcase of what Metal compute is capable of today.

• Fully Metal-driven compute kernel 
• Fluid zooming and panning at interactive frame rates
• Adaptive iteration and precision logic for smooth performance
   

A subtle height-mapped lighting system adds dimensionality:

• Adjustable light direction 
• Specular highlights
• Tunable shininess
• Metallic / glossy rendering effects
   

• 150+ curated palettes across varied themes including 50+ Ultra-Wide 768-step palettes for smooth gradients
• Photo-based gradient extraction
• Exact LUT and Smooth interpolation modes
• GPU dithering
   

• Save and restore any location with perfect mathematical precisio 
• One-tap return enables fast A/B comparisons
• Fully deterministic across devices
   

• Import/export bookmarks and palettes
• Cross-device and cross-user compatibility
• A forthcoming Community Sharing Portal will expand this with uploads, discovery, and curated content
   

• Export at full canvas resolution or up to 8K+ 
• Display-P3 and HDR output
• Perfect gradients with no banding
   

• HUD overlay showing zoom, iteration count, and performance metrics
• Go to Rect for direct coordinate entry
• Auto-Iteration automatically adjusts detail based on zoom level
   

• Smooth vs Exact LUT palette modes 
• Dithering and SSAA anti-aliasing
• HDR color
• Perturbation rendering pipeline
• Adjustable contrast, brightness, and 3D Look strength
   

• Built-in gesture and control walkthrough 
• In-app Help Sheet
• The new Creative Guide offers tips, examples, and a fast path to making striking artwork
• Accessible from the main menu at any time
   

Mandelbrot Metal behaves like a high-end graphics or simulation app, not a static viewer.

Reviewers should expect:

• High GPU and CPU usage during active exploration — by design 
• Instant reduction in load when interaction stops
• Zero background tasks and zero blocked sleep
• Completely halted rendering when backgrounded
   

• Quality scales adaptively to prevent runaway load 
• Full compliance with iOS thermal and Low Power Mode systems
• Rendering suspends automatically when idle
   

Note: HQ/Idle/Low Power modes are managed automatically.

During active exploration:

• High computational load (GPU and sometimes CPU)
• Smooth UI and fluid navigation
• Stable gradients and precision-correct imagery
   

When still:

• Load drops dramatically
• Refinement pauses completely
• No hidden processing in the background
   

The app behaves predictably, cleanly, and safely across all supported devices.

Mandelbrot Metal demonstrates what’s possible when Apple’s Metal compute power meets mathematical beauty. It delivers:

• Real-time fractal rendering
• Deep precision with adaptive GPU/CPU scaling
• Vivid, professional-grade color
• Ultra-deep zooming
• Publication-ready exports
• A clean, modern interface
   

It’s both a creative tool and a performance showcase — ideal for reviewers evaluating GPU capability, precision rendering, display quality, or modern iOS UI design.