Upgrading Pixels can also get a boost

Phones and tablets launching with Android 13 may be able to load games faster than ever with a short boost in CPU speeds.

Mishaal Rahman, senior technical editor at Esper, explained what he was able to recall from a string of code changes in the Android Open Source Project before Google made them private.

A new API is set to allow games to communicate their current operational state to the operating system. If a game reports to be loading, Android would react by sending a nudge through to power management and then over to the CPU for a speed boost, thus cutting down on load times.

Rahman reports that this so-called GAME_LOADING feature is being tested at the SoC vendor level on Android 13 and will be required for all new devices on that version or later. Pixel devices supporting the upgrade have been patched to enable GAME_LOADING. Many other devices, though, will likely not be updated since this change requires an update to an SoC-level hardware abstraction layer and chip producers aren't generally obligated by Google to update their vendor implementation.

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Still, if your game takes the better part of a minute to get its bearings, this should be some solace when you buy your next Android.

Netflix is thinking about charging you extra for sharing your account Read NextShareTweetShareEmail Related TopicsAbout The AuthorJules Wang(1322 Articles Published)

Jules joined the Android Police team in 2019. Before that, he was at Pocketnow. He loves public transportation, podcasts, and people in general. He also likes to take views from the bigger picture in technology from how people are attracted to it to how it's utilized across every other industry.