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3DMark Solar Bay is a cross-platform benchmark for comparing ray-tracing graphics performance on supported phones, tablets, notebooks, handhelds, and other lightweight devices. Its standard test runs for one minute; a separate 20-minute stress test shows how performance changes over a longer run. Neither score guarantees how a device will perform in a particular game.
What does 3DMark Solar Bay benchmark?
Solar Bay measures GPU performance using a synthetic ray-tracing graphics workload. UL describes the standard test as three increasingly demanding sections intended to represent short bursts of ray-traced gaming. It is useful for comparing benchmark results across supported platforms, but it is not a direct measurement of frame rates in a specific game.
The standard run takes one minute, according to UL’s Solar Bay overview. The separate stress test repeats the workload for 20 minutes and provides a chart of performance over time. That longer view can help reveal whether performance changes during sustained load, including effects associated with heat management.
Can your phone, tablet, or computer run Solar Bay?
Compatibility depends on the operating system, graphics API, ray-tracing feature support, and drivers—not simply on whether a device has a powerful GPU. The published requirements below are those listed on UL’s standard Solar Bay requirements page, checked on September 28, 2026. Requirements and software availability can change, so check that live page for a particular device before installing or relying on compatibility.
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| Platform | Published Solar Bay requirements | Graphics API and ray-tracing path |
|---|---|---|
| Android | Android 12 or later; 4 GB RAM; 120 MB free storage | Vulkan 1.1 with Vulkan ray-query support |
| iOS | iOS 16 or later; iPhone 11 or 9th-generation iPad; 2 GB RAM; 485 MB storage | Metal |
| Windows | Windows 10 64-bit version 21H2 or Windows 11; 1.8 GHz dual-core CPU with SSSE3; 4 GB memory; 2 GB dedicated VRAM. Systems with integrated graphics need at least 6 GB system RAM. | Vulkan 1.1 with Vulkan ray-tracing pipeline support |
| macOS | macOS 14 Sonoma; Apple Silicon; 6 GB memory; 1.4 GB storage | Metal |
The platform paths are not interchangeable: Android uses Vulkan ray query, while Windows uses the Vulkan ray-tracing pipeline and Apple’s platforms use Metal. A device can therefore meet an operating-system or memory requirement and still lack the required graphics feature or driver support.
Solar Bay vs. Solar Bay Extreme
Solar Bay Extreme is a separate, more demanding benchmark for high-end lightweight devices. Its scores should not be compared directly with standard Solar Bay scores as if both tests ran the same workload. UL’s Solar Bay Extreme overview lists Windows, Windows on Arm, macOS, Android, and iOS support, with rendering at 2560 × 1440. Its API paths use DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.1, and Metal. Like standard Solar Bay, its default run lasts one minute and its stress test lasts 20 minutes.
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| Characteristic | Solar Bay | Solar Bay Extreme |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose and workload | Ray-tracing benchmark with three increasingly demanding sections | More demanding ray-tracing workload designed to remain consistent through the scene |
| Rendering resolution | Not stated in the Solar Bay overview | 2560 × 1440 |
| Run duration | One-minute standard run; 20-minute stress test | One-minute default run; 20-minute stress test |
| Key graphics features | Ray-tracing workload; platform-specific API paths | Adds ray-traced specular reflections on rough surfaces, full-resolution ray-traced glass reflections, and soft ray-traced directional-light shadows |
UL says the added Extreme features increase total per-frame workload by 2 to 5 times compared with Solar Bay. That is UL’s workload comparison, not a measured speed difference or result for any specific device. Extreme also has different and generally higher requirements; consult its requirements listing rather than assuming that a device compatible with standard Solar Bay can run Extreme.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare Solar Bay results
First confirm that results come from the same benchmark variant. Then consider what each result actually measures: a standard score summarizes a short run, while a stress-test chart shows how the workload performs over an extended period. Useful comparisons should identify the device, operating system, benchmark variant, and test conditions.
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- Compare Solar Bay results with Solar Bay results, and Extreme results with Extreme results.
- Record the device and operating system, since supported graphics APIs and ray-tracing paths vary by platform.
- Distinguish a single benchmark score from performance behavior across the stress-test run; they answer different questions.
- Treat the result as evidence about this synthetic graphics workload, not a promise of performance in every ray-traced game.
Solar Bay was announced by UL Solutions in August 2023 as a cross-platform ray-tracing benchmark. Its intended cross-platform comparisons are most informative when the benchmark variant and test context are clear.
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