Android gets Vulkan-base Lossless Scaling frame generation, allowing Android devices to achieve triple-digit FPS in PC games

Frame generation, hate it or not, has become a staple of PC gaming thanks to mainstream integration by NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel, as well as 3rd-party solutions such as Lossless Scaling. PC-like Frame generation technology has now begun to trickle down to Android devices through a new Vulkan-based iteration of Lossless Scaling's frame generation technology.

Right now, there are two ways to get Lossless Scaling frame generation installed on Android. One is to install the standalone version from the LSFG-Android GitHub page, and the other is to use GameHub, which comes with LSFG baked in. However, both implementations require you to buy Lossless Scaling, which is currently $6.99 on Steam. The standalone option is technically better as it allows you to apply frame generation to any game installed on your Android device.

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The version of LSFG offered on Android comes with up to an 8x frame generation multiplier, performance mode, HDR mode, anti-artifact mode, and flow scale adjustment. Flow scale changes the resolution of the generated frames, improving performance or image quality depending on how aggressively the flow scale is adjusted.

ETA Prime on YouTube demoed the tech in Cyberpunk 2077, emulated through an Android device, providing a significant improvement to the game's smoothness depending on the frame generation multiplier used. At a 30 FPS base frame rate, using 2x FG boosted frame rates up to 60, and using 4x FG boosted frame rates to over 100 FPS.

However, the quality of the generated frames is far from perfect. Even at just a 2x multiplier, the game suffered from noticeable artifacting, especially around stairs and HUD elements. This was made even worse when the YouTuber tested the 4x multiplier mode, where the base frame rate dropped down to 24 FPS, making the game barely playable (if at all). Artifacting from the generated frames was even worse, turning the screen into a blurry mess when moving the camera around quickly.

Despite its limitations, hardware-agnostic frame generation is now available on the Android ecosystem for the first time. This tech is specifically applicable to PC game emulation on Android, where many existing games that are graphically demanding are hard to run at anywhere close to 60 FPS, even on bleeding-edge hardware and at lower settings. Frame generation can boost frame rates up to 60 FPS or above with these demanding games, at the cost of additional latency. Hopefully, Lossless Scaling will continue to work on its frame generation tech to make frame generation a more enjoyable experience on Android devices moving forward.