While you probably will not buy a smartphone just because your mobile games look good in it or it runs more smoothly there, it will certainly add to a device’s cool factor if it was built for gaming. Samsung’s new flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge have something else going for them, aside from all the specs that have made it sought after, game-wise: they have embraced the Vulkan API which is a key ingredient in mobile gaming.
At the E3’s gameshow this year, they demonstrated three cutting-edge games that have been based on the Vulkan API: EA’s Need for Speed: No Limits, Nexon’s Heroes of Incredible Tales (HIT), and Super Evil Megacorp’s Vainglory. The responsiveness and the details of the games are obviously more noticeable and so it is easy enough for gamers to immerse themselves in the universe of the game they’re playing.
Vulkan 1.0 is a more flexible and portable API that allows a reduction in CPU bottlenecks and actually lets the device use multiple CPUs. This leads to increased performance and reduces hitches plus other things that may interfere in the gaming experience. The reason why the graphics are more detailed and that gaming is more responsive is that the CPU load has been lowered and the GPU performance increased.
But while the technology is already there, Samsung took it a step further by actually helping the game developers understand how the Vulkan API will benefit their product. Super Evil Megacorp for example saw that the games they created through the API performed 30% faster. The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge are built for gaming, with the Game Launcher and Game Tools, not to mention the Galaxy Game Pack which comes with more than 40 games and special bonuses exclusive to those two smartphones.
SOURCE: Samsung
