Nintendo Switch certified for Vulkan and OpenGL 4.5

Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid now officially supports Vulkan and OpenGL 4.5 APIs in its new customized OS.

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The Khronos Group has certified the Nintendo Switch as conformant to the Vulkan 1.0, OpenGL 4.5 and OpenGL ES 3.2 graphics APIs for modern high-efficiency graphics. The Switch's OS is formally called the "Nintendo OS," and meets the Vulkan CTS 1.0.1.0 requirements.

As NVIDIA officially confirmed the Switch will use a highly customized Tegra processor, possibly a second-gen 20nm Maxwell iteration or a brand new 16nm FinFET Pascal variant, the inclusion of modern API support isn't exactly a surprise. The Nintendo Switch wasn't found conformant to any other Khronos Group APIs, including OpenCL.

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It'll be interesting to see how developers utilize Vulkan and OpenGL 4.5 for their Switch games, especially with the latest reports the Switch halves its GPU performance by 50% in mobile mode, and only hits 768MHz of GPU clock speeds while docked.

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The Nintendo Switch launches in March 2017, with a special reveal event being held on Jan 12-14 that showcases full specs, games lineup and more.

Check below for a massive catalog of everything we know about the Nintendo Switch so far, including specs, analyses and more.

Everything we know about Nintendo Switch so far:

• Nintendo Switch certified for Vulkan and OpenGL 4.5
• Nintendo Switch portable GPU speeds halved to 302MHz, docked GPU speeds only hit 768MHz max
• Nintendo Switch has higher GPU, CPU perf while docked?
• Nintendo Switch may support head-tracking mobile VR
• Nintendo Switch switches to full 1080p while docked
• Nintendo Switch to have Gamecube Virtual Console games
• Nintendo Switch listed at $245, to release March 17?
• Porting games over to Nintendo Switch might be easy
• Nintendo Switch to get full HD Pokemon Sun and Moon port
• Nintendo Switch price to start at $249, deluxe at $299
• Nintendo Switch launch games teased, 2017 will be huge
• Nintendo Switch to let you play modded Skyrim on-the-go
• Zelda Breath of the Wild may not be a Switch launch game
• Nintendo Switch may have 4GB unified memory pool
• Nintendo Switch handheld delivers console-quality gaming
• 3DS won't be cannibalized by new Switch console, Nintendo President confirms
• Nintendo Switch to have wide array of hardware add-ons
• Nintendo Switch may use USB Type-C for power
• Nintendo Switch has 6-inch 720p display with 10-point capacitive multi-touch
• Nintendo investors hate the Switch hybrid
• Everything you need to know about the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo's new transforming handheld console hybrid
• Nintendo to reveal Switch pricing, specs, launch games and more on January 12, 2017
• 3DS won't be cannibalized by Switch, says Nintendo
• Nintendo Switch gameplay graphics and features are subject to change
• Nintendo Switch is single-screen only, says Nintendo
• Nintendo Switch to launch only as complete bundle
• Nintendo expect 2 million Switch console sales at launch
• Nintendo Switch may have extra power while docked
• Nintendo Switch isn't backward compatible with Wii U games
• Nintendo Switch's battery may only last 3 hours?
• Nintendo won't reveal full Switch console specs until 2017
• Nintendo Switch gets a much-needed splash of color
• Nintendo's new Switch console powered by NVIDIA Tegra
• Nintendo Switch may sport dedicated game video recording
• Skyrim hasn't yet been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch