Google goes with Vulkan as Androids low-overhead graphics API

Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Google goes with Vulkan as Androids low-overhead graphics API

Added: 10.08.2015 18:18 | 22 views | 0 comments

Low-overhead graphics APIs are all the rage these days, at least if you're the sort of person who gets excited about graphics APIs. iOS 8 introduced Metal last year, and OS X El Capitan will bring the API to the Mac when it's released this fall. The just-released Windows 10 includes DirectX 12, which will also come to Windows Phone when it gets updated later this year. And today Google announced that Android will be picking up support for Vulkan, the Khronos Group's low-overhead follow-up to OpenGL and OpenGL ES. Like the other low-overhead APIs, Vulkan promises to improve performance by providing more direct access to the GPUdevelopers can manage memory and multiple threads on their own rather than leaving it up to the driver, giving them more work to do but also providing more flexibility. The difference is that, like OpenGL, Vulkan will be available for anybody and could theoretically be added to any and all of the major operating systems.