How many FPS does No Man's Sky get on the MacBook Air M2? 1080p, 1440p and 4K performance
40FPS
1080p High
Estimate
25
1440p
13
4K
About 40 FPS at 1080p on High: No Man's Sky runs natively on the MacBook Air M2 (Apple M2, 8-core GPU, 8 GB). It is playable, with little headroom. For 60 FPS, use 1080p Medium + MetalFX Quality (about 60 FPS).
Data reviewed October 1, 2026 · how we calculate it
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No Man's Sky FPS on MacBook Air M2 by resolution and quality
Estimate| Resolution | Low | Medium | High | Ultra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 56FPS | 48FPS | 40FPS | 33FPS |
| 1440p | 35FPS | 30FPS | 25FPS | 21FPS |
| 4K | 18FPS | 16FPS | 13FPS | 11FPS |
Estimated average in normal gameplay with the game and macOS up to date. Green: 60+ · lime: 45+ · amber: 30+ · orange: 20+ · red: under 20.
Recommended settings
For 60 FPS
1080p · Medium
+ MetalFX Quality
≈ 60 FPS
For 30 FPS
1440p · Medium
≈ 30 FPS
Moving to 1440p High puts the MacBook Air M2 at about 25 FPS. MetalFX renders at a lower resolution and upscales, so it is the cheapest way to play at the display’s native resolution.
Performance with MetalFX
MetalFX renders No Man's Sky at a lower internal resolution and reconstructs the image: you gain FPS for a little sharpness. Figures on High with 8 GB.
| Resolution | Native | Quality | Balanced | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1080p | 40FPS | 49FPS | 60FPS | 67FPS |
| 1440p | 25FPS | 31FPS | 37FPS | 42FPS |
| 4K | 13FPS | 16FPS | 19FPS | 22FPS |
All figures are without ray tracing. The real MetalFX gain varies by game and version.
The MacGameFPS verdict
Calibrated on real Mac benchmarks, not spec sheets
Is the MacBook Air M2 enough for No Man's Sky?
Just about: 40 FPS at 1080p High is playable but has no headroom. Dropping to Medium or turning on MetalFX steadies it.
Playable · 1440p 25 FPS · 4K 13 FPS
MacBook Air M2 or MacBook Air M3 for No Man's Sky?
In No Man's Sky at 1080p High, the MacBook Air M2 gets 40 FPS and the MacBook Air M3 42 FPS: 5% more.
MacBook Air M2 specs
- Chip
- Apple M2
- GPU cores
- 8 / 10
- Unified memory
- 8 / 16 / 24 GB
- Cooling
- Fanless
- Geekbench Metal
- 39,429
- Tier
- Entry level · 11/100
Other Macs with the M2 chip
The Apple M2 also powers the MacBook Pro M2 and the Mac mini M2. In No Man's Sky, the Mac mini M2 gets 55 FPS at 1080p High, 38% more than the MacBook Air M2, mainly because its fan keeps clocks up under load.
How much memory do you need?
On Apple Silicon the GPU shares memory with the system, so the RAM you picked when buying the Mac is also your video memory. No Man's Sky asks for 8 GB minimum.
| Memory | 1080p High | 1440p High |
|---|---|---|
| 8 GB | 40FPS | 25FPS |
| 16 GB | 41FPS | 26FPS |
| 24 GB | 41FPS | 26FPS |
Other Macs for No Man's Sky
1080p · High
Mac mini M2
M2 · 10 GPU
55FPSView analysis
MacBook Pro M2
M2 · 10 GPU
54FPSView analysisMac mini M2 Pro
M2 Pro · 16/19 GPU
88FPSView analysis
MacBook Pro M2 Pro
M2 Pro · 16/19 GPU
86FPSView analysisMacBook Air M3
M3 · 8/10 GPU
42FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M1
M1 · 8 GPU
36FPSView analysis
MacBook Air M1
M1 · 7/8 GPU
29FPSView analysisMacBook Pro M2 Max
M2 Max · 30/38 GPU
131FPSView analysis
Shopping for an all-round gaming Mac? Mac ranking by real FPS →
Other games on the MacBook Air M2
- Death Stranding Director's Cut35FPS
- Hitman World of Assassination41FPS
- Lies of P52FPS
- Metro Exodus31FPS
- Frostpunk 240FPS
- GRID Legends51FPS
- Resident Evil 240FPS
- Resident Evil 330FPS
- Resident Evil 7 biohazard40FPS
- Rise of the Tomb Raider47FPS
Official Mac requirements
- Minimum
- Any Mac with Apple silicon, including MacBook Air · macOS Ventura or later (Metal 3)
Source: www.nomanssky.com
FAQ
Can the 8 GB MacBook Air M2 run No Man's Sky?
Yes. With 8 GB we estimate 40 FPS at 1080p High.
Can No Man's Sky hit 60 FPS on the MacBook Air M2?
Yes: at 1080p Medium + MetalFX Quality it runs around 60 FPS.
Does the MacBook Air M2 throttle in No Man's Sky?
The MacBook Air M2 has no fan. In long sessions it lowers clocks to manage heat, and our figures already account for that sustained loss, around 10% in a game this demanding.
What about 1440p and 4K?
On High, the MacBook Air M2 gets about 25 FPS at 1440p and about 13 FPS at 4K in No Man's Sky. These are native figures: MetalFX raises both noticeably.
Do these figures include MetalFX or ray tracing?
No. The headline figure is native resolution, no MetalFX and no ray tracing. The table below shows MetalFX turned on. Ray tracing, where a game offers it, costs a lot of FPS on any Mac.
Is No Man's Sky native on Apple Silicon?
Yes, it has a native Apple Silicon version, available on Steam. No CrossOver, Parallels or Game Porting Toolkit needed.