glDrawArraysIndirect and glDrawElementsIndirect allow draw parameters to reside in GPU buffers. This enables the GPU to generate its own draw calls without CPU intervention, critical for:
: New bitfield and arithmetic operations were added to GLSL ES to support more modern shader programming styles. Arm Developer Android Extension Pack (AEP) Launched alongside OpenGL ES 3.1, the Android Extension Pack opengl es 31 android top
When setting up your GLSurfaceView or initializing an EGL context in native C++ (NDK), you must explicitly request version 3.1. If you are using Java/Kotlin with GLSurfaceView : If you are using Java/Kotlin with GLSurfaceView :
Compute shaders enable massive parallel processing, making operations that would bog down the CPU run smoothly on the GPU. you must explicitly request version 3.1.
Supported by Android 2.2 and higher, 2.0 is suitable for basic 2D/3D graphics.
| Feature | OpenGL ES 3.1 | Vulkan | |---------|---------------|--------| | | Medium | Very low | | Multi-threading | Limited (single context) | Excellent | | Compute + graphics | Yes, but barriers manual | Explicit and efficient | | Learning curve | Easier | Steep | | Adoption (Android) | Universal on 5.0+ | Android 7.0+ (but not all devices have drivers) |