Give Android 16 gaming a boost with Google’s new rule

 To support game-changing graphics feature, Google will require new Android 16 devices 

Google is making a major change to how Android phones handle gaming. Starting with Android 16, any new phone or tablet which lands in the market must support a new feature called Host Image Copy. While the name might sound like something only developers care about, the real-world impact is clear: faster load times, less stuttering and games that run more smoothly overall. This relates to someone who games on their phone and can appreciate. New Android 16 devices must support Host Image Copy, a Vulkan 1.4 feature which reduces stuttering, load times, & memory use. Following are the some of the important points:-

Games using Host Image Copy can remove stutter during texture data streaming while also halving memory use.

The latest version of the Vulkan graphics API, Vulkan 1.4, makes the Host Image Copy feature a core feature.

Devices launching with chipset built for Android 16 or later will be required to support the Host Image Copy feature.

The best Android games look significantly better now than they were in the past, thanks to both more powerful hardware for developers and improved graphics rendering features in Android. Now, most Android devices support Vulkan, the industry standard API for graphics and compute. Vulkan allows games to run efficiently on modern devices, and the latest version of the API, Vulkan 1.4, will introduce a feature to more devices which could greatly improve game performance on upcoming Android 16 devices. Host Image Copy helps games load their visuals more efficiently by letting the phone’s processor take care of moving image data, rather than relying only on the graphic chip. It frees up resources and helps your games run better. It also cuts down the amount of memory games need to use behind the scenes, which is good for performance and battery life. This means that end of the long pauses and lag spikes which could frustrate mobile gamers, or at the very least bolster them with enough speed and performance that it’s more attractive to some players who haven’t decided to buy in on mobile or specifically Android.

Android introduced support for the Vulkan graphics API with Android 7.0 Nougat in 2016, but only a small number of devices supported it initially. Now, over 85% of Android devices support Vulkan. As a result, Google recently made Vulkan the official graphics API for Android, meaning that all software will have to use Vulkan to communicate with the device’s GPU. The Vulkan graphics API is a modern, low-overhead, cross-platform 3D graphics and compute API. It gives developers more direct control over the GPU than the older OpenGL API, which Vulkan replaces. This more direct control reduces CPU overhead, leading to improved performance in multi-threaded apps and games, and enables games to utilize advanced features supported by modern smartphone GPUs, such as ray tracing. Google is requiring this feature for all new Android 16 devices, meaning developers can build more demanding games without worrying about compatibility. It’s a good news not just for flagship phones, but for budget-friendly models too, especially ones sold by retailers like Walmart, where affordable Android devices are a staple.

One of the Vulkan features required by VPA 16 is Host Image Copy, a feature which is a part of the core Vulkan 1.4 specification and Google engineer calls a “game changer for games on Android.” Shahbaz Youssefi, Senior Software Developer at Google working on the Vulkan backend of ANGLE, explains that Host Image Copy enables stutter-free texture data streaming and faster load times while halving GPU memory use. While most Android devices available now support Vulkan, there’s significant inconsistency in the specific Vulkan features that individual devices support. To improve consistency in Vulkan feature availability across Android devices, Google introduced the Vulkan Profiles for Android (VPA) program last year. VPA defines a set of Vulkan features which GPUs must support to pass Google’s certification testing for a given Android release. For example, VPA 16, which is aimed at next-generation chipsets launching with support for Android 16, mandates that GPUs support at least these Vulkan features. This change is part of a larger effort by Google to make Android a more competitive platform for gaming. As per the past updates, Android’s performance improvements often start in the background before showing up in flashy features, and Host Image Copy is no different. As Android 16 rolls out, users can expect games to look better, run faster and feel smoother. This means your favourite games on the platform could soon feel a lot more comfortable to really get into, which is a change we can all get behind.

This feature allows games to copy image data, such as textures, using the device’s CPU instead of the GPU. Traditionally, transferring image data from the device’s RAM or storage to the GPU involved multiple steps: first, copying the data to a temporary buffer in GPU memory, and then having the GPU copy it from that buffer to its final destination (the image). By enabling the CPU to copy image data directly between host memory and GPU image memory, or even between two images on the host side, Host Image Copy eliminates the need for a temporary buffer. This halves the GPU memory required for the transfer and, by using multiple CPU threads to load texture data in parallel, improves loading times. This also frees up GPU resources so they can be spent rendering frames more smoothly, reducing stutter. This is a vastly oversimplified summary of Host Image Copy, so it is recommended to read Youssefi’s comments for a more detailed explanation. What’s important to know is that Host Image Copy will prove particularly useful for Android games, as it enables faster app loads, reduces stutter, and lowers GPU memory usage. Youssefi expects that the “vast majority of Android devices shipping with Vulkan 1.4 will implement Host Image Copy, and implement it optimally for compressed formats.” While some current Android devices already support the Host Image Copy feature, this number will grow substantially once new Android 16 devices start to ship, as required by VPA 16.

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Names

 

ALLAH Names

 

World's first aircraft to fly with six barrel-shaped "Cyclorotors"

 Cyclotech's Blackbird airframe flying car begins flight testing                

After many years of innovation and prototype testing, CycloTech’s air car concept has taken flight, offering a glimpse into a future where personal air travel is a reality. With the revolutionary CycloRotor propulsion system at its core, this unique aircraft could redefine urban mobility, offering unparalleled agility and control. One of the most fascinating aircraft in the eVTOL space has moved into flight testing with a new large-scale prototype. Cyclotech's Blackbird airframe becomes the world's first aircraft to fly with six barrel-shaped "Cyclorotors" for propulsion. The Austrian-based Cyclotech team has been working on commercializing its wacky-looking barrel rotors for a long time now, they started back in 2011 under the name D-Dalus. But the central technology here is both fascinating and a potentially big advantage in these early days of electric vertical takeoff aircraft. In a move that could reshape personal air travel, CycloTech has unveiled its long-awaited eVTOL air car concept, the CruiseUp. With 15 years of development and prototype testing behind it, this revolutionary aircraft promises a unique blend of innovation and practicality. Designed for cross-town hops and short-distance commuting, the CruiseUp stands out not only for its futuristic design but also for its exceptional manoeuvrability. Each propulsion barrel is set to spin at a constant rate, and the "walls" of the barrel are made up of tilting airfoil blades in an arrangement best known as a Voith-Schneider Propeller. In much the same way as a helicopter adjusts individual blade pitch constantly as they travel around the central hub, the blades in the Cyclorotors are constantly adjusted as the barrels spin. It even uses a similar arrangement to a helicopter's swashplate, a mechanical design which uses a tilting disc to ensure that each blade is perfectly tuned to tilt into the airflow at the perfect point in its rotation then tilt back out again.

CycloTech, headquartered in Linz, Austria, has centered its mission on commercializing the CycloRotor propulsion system, a concept originally developed in the maritime world and more commonly known as Voith-Schneider propellers. These rotating barrel-shaped devices create thrust using wing blades which tilt as the barrel spins, much like helicopter rotors. This design allows for rapid thrust vectoring in 360 degrees, enabling quick directional changes, whether downward for takeoff and landing, rearward for acceleration, or upward for stability. You can super-quickly vector the thrust the Cyclorotor produces, with 360-degree freedom, and when you're talking about VTOL aircraft which need to adjust thrust across multiple propulsion units near-instantaneously in order to balance against wind gusts in a hover, the Cyclorotors solve a problem. Regular propellers need time to spin up to increase their thrust, and while electric motors deliver strong torque on demand, they can't respond as quickly as Cyclotech's blade tilt adjustments. The CruiseUp, that looks more than a little like a flying high heel, is about one and a half times the size of a standard ground car and seats two passengers. It features six CycloRotors, with four positioned at the corners and two mounted fore and aft of the cabin. While it lacks traditional wings, these CycloRotors provide the necessary thrust for flight. However, this constant thrust requires significant energy, resulting in a top speed of 150 km/h and an estimated range of 100 km. They also offer, at least a different risk profile when it comes to birds, bystanders and other foreign objects. The packaging might make them a little less intimidating on takeoff, and they certainly make for a compact and futuristic-looking aircraft. They have successfully completed multiple rounds of ground testing for the BlackBird Demonstrator, ensuring it’s ready for its maiden flight. Reliability and performance are on track.    

CycloTech says that the CruiseUp won’t take to the skies until at least 2035 or later. The company is waiting for the eVTOL air taxi and shuttle industry to mature, regulatory hurdles to be cleared, and energy storage solutions to advance. Despite its futuristic aspirations, CycloTech maintains a reasonable timeline. The prototype flown is known as "Blackbird", was put together with impressive speed, going from concept to first flight. It runs a Cyclorotor at each corner, much like a quadcopter drone, but adds a pair of barrels under the front and rear of the aircraft that are mounted at right angles. These will kick in some additional vertical thrust and add redundancy in case of failure, but they also give Blackbird the ability to add a sideways or twisting component of thrust for manoeuvring. It might be a comfier ride than some of the competition. This isn't a full-size airframe as yet. Blackbird weighs 750 lb (340 kg) and has no seats in it. The production machine, currently known as "CruiseUp," is slated to launch as a two-seater with a 62-mile (100-km) range and a top speed around 93 mph (150 km/h). It's intended to be a personal buy 'n' fly aircraft rather than a fully certified commercial air taxi. Cyclotech has also been working on some wonderfully weird cargo carrying versions with Yamato. Cyclotech says it'll now begin an extensive flight test campaign to "fully explore the inherent potential" of the Cyclorotor propulsion system.    The Voith-Schneider propellers certainly give this thing a unique look. They aren't in a rush to get to production and scheduled for sometime around 2035. The business model appears to be more centered around proving and demonstrating the propulsion system, and making it available for other applications. 

While the path to profitability for CycloTech remains uncertain, the CruiseUp concept holds potential in smaller drones, where precision positioning and multi-directional agility could be invaluable for tasks such as asset inspection. The aircraft’s innovative mechanics and visually striking design make it a captivating addition to the evolving landscape of personal air transportation.

Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Names