NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet finally gets the Android 6.0.1 update, and apart from numerous fixes that are accompanied with each software update for Google’s mobile platform, here is one huge change that is going to be added to the slate.

NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet Finally Gets The Vulcan API Support – Will Developers Finally Take Advantage To Release Exclusive Mobile Gaming Titles?

According to the release notes present on NVIDIA’s website, the following updates will be present:

Supports the new Vulkan API for high-efficiency access to SHIELD’s graphics hardwareAdds Android 6.0.1 changesRepositioned Navigation Buttons in Landscape mode & Updated EmojisDouble Tap Power Button to launch SHIELD Camera appDo Not Disturb Until Next AlarmSupport for Android Doze mode & additional power optimizationsAdds USB MIDI supportAdds memory compression enhancementImproved Wi-Fi connectivity when waking from sleepFixed Compass functionalityFixed Gamepad Mapper issuesFixed issues with moving apps to SD cardFixed Doom 3 HDMI output issueRepositioned Lasso Capture icons in landscape modeUpdate to Android 6.0 Security Patch Level March 1, 2016Overall stability and security enhancements

You might not have seen this, but the biggest change that come to the tablet was support for the new API. In case you did not know this, it happens to be a new graphics API renderer with a simpler, thinner driver, but most importantly, it has efficient CPU multi-threading capabilities. When pitted against its closest competitors, DirectX or OpenGL, Vulkan actually has less latency and overhead, resulting in your system to reach new levels of performance.

In a nutshell, it can potentially provide gamers with a boost in performance for those systems that are not running the latest and greatest hardware configurations. Additionally, Vulkan will also aid developers to effectively avoid CPU bottlenecks, which happen to be one of the biggest contributors to performance degradation. With a bottleneck gap significantly removed, less powerful hardware will potentially be able to rake more frames out of next-generation video game titles.

This could mean that developers might finally receive the much needed motivation to produce dedicated applications for the powerful gaming tablet, though this is wishful thinking at its best. However, with the reduced overheads coming from other APIs, Vulcan might actually be able to provide the establishment needed to create much visually impressive and fluid games.

If this sort of thing does happen, then we will update you accordingly. From the update, are you guys excited that NVIDIA SHIELD Tablet finally got support for the Vulcan API? Let us know your thoughts right away.

Source