KosmicKrisp performance and functionality improvements, new extensions, scoped GPU-AV, and GPU Dump tooling
Released 28 July, 2026
The Vulkan SDK 1.4.357.0 is now available for download simultaneously for Linux, macOS, and Windows. This release supports Vulkan API revision 1.4.357 and brings meaningful advances in validation tooling, a substantial performance and functionality jump for KosmicKrisp on Apple platforms, support for 13 new extensions, and continued refinements across the developer stack.
Download it now from the Vulkan SDK page. We recommend always using the latest SDK for the best bug fixes, tools, and compatibility—SDKs older than two years are eventually removed from the download site, though all remain backwards compatible.
macOS: Significant KosmicKrisp Advances
KosmicKrisp has received major updates in this release:
- Now exposes full Vulkan 1.4
New features: timestampComputeAndGraphics, shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat16, and shaderRoundingModeRTEFloat32 - Performance improved by up to ~2.35× compared to the previous SDK
- Moved to Metal4 command buffer encoding (Metal4 is now mandated; requires macOS 26 or later)
- Removed CPU overhead for ONE_TIME_SUBMIT command buffers
- Moved to fast math
- New bug fixes and workarounds for Metal issues
- Newly supported extensions:
- VK_KHR_dynamic_rendering_local_read
- VK_KHR_shader_float_controls2
- VK_KHR_present_id
- VK_KHR_present_id2
- VK_KHR_present_wait
- VK_KHR_present_wait2
In addition, the new XCFrameworks for the Vulkan Loader and validation layers now support use in the iOS simulator. Developers should heed the deprecation notice: the Vulkan Loader and validation layers for iOS are now distributed as XCFrameworks. The next SDK will remove the old .framework files—please transition to the newer XCFrameworks. libshaderc_combined.a is also now an XCFramework to enable real-time shader compiling on the simulator.
New Extensions (All Platforms)
The Vulkan headers now include the following new extensions. These are optional and may not be implemented by the underlying driver/ICD—applications should query for their presence:
- VK_EXT_shader_ocp_microscaling_types
- VK_ARM_tensor_controls
- VK_IMG_filter_linear_2d
- VK_KHR_extended_flags
- VK_KHR_video_encode_feedback2
- VK_EXT_multisampled_render_to_swapchain
- VK_NV_cooperative_matrix_decode_vector
- VK_KHR_opacity_micromap
- VK_EXT_shader_split_barrier
- VK_AMD_gpa_interface
- VK_QCOM_elapsed_timer_query
- VK_QCOM_image_processing3
- VK_QCOM_shader_multiple_wait_queues
Validation & Tooling Improvements (All Platforms)
- GPU-AV validation of VK_EXT_descriptor_heap and VK_EXT_descriptor_buffer is now enabled.
- Scoped GPU-AV has been added to the Validation Layer. This capability lets developers limit the scope of GPU-AV to reduce the performance impact of full validation. See the Scoped GPU-AV documentation (within the GPU-AV documentation) for details.
- GPU Dump has been added to the Vulkan Validation Layer. Similar in spirit to API Dump, this is a fast/lite tool that provides useful information especially for extensions such as VK_EXT_descriptor_heap. See the GPU Dump documentation for more information.
- Improved validation coverage. The VUID validation coverage documentation (validation_usage_todo.html) has been updated to reflect the current status of validation layer coverage.
Platform Notes
Linux:
- Precompiled binaries require GLIBC 2.35 or higher.
- Supported Ubuntu versions are now 24.04 and 26.04.
- Android Validation Layer binaries continue to be released separately in the Validation Layers repository.
Windows:
- As always, update your Vulkan-capable hardware drivers to the latest version recommended by the vendor.
All Platforms:
- The chunked and PDF versions of the Vulkan specification are no longer available from Khronos and have been removed from the Vulkan SDK.
Why Stay Current with the Vulkan SDK?
Keeping your SDK up to date continues to deliver clear benefits: immediate access to new extensions and hardware capabilities, stronger validation and debugging tools (including the new Scoped GPU-AV and GPU Dump), ongoing stability improvements, and alignment with modern platform requirements.
All newer SDKs are fully backwards compatible. Even if you do not plan to target the latest Vulkan 1.4 features, earlier versions of the Vulkan API remain fully supported, so you can continue developing and shipping applications against the Vulkan version your project requires while still benefiting from the latest tools, bug fixes, and platform improvements.
In a fast-moving graphics and compute ecosystem, an up-to-date SDK remains a practical advantage for productivity, portability, and performance.
Thank You Vulkan Ecosystem Contributors!
A big thank you to everyone who made this release possible—the Khronos Vulkan Working Group, LunarG engineers, driver vendors, and the many developers who contributed feedback, patches, and testing. Your collaboration on KosmicKrisp, the validation layers, GPU Dump, and the broader ecosystem keeps Vulkan moving forward.
Happy coding!
Release Notes
Access the release notes for all of the details on the Vulkan SDK 1.4.357 release, including deprecation notices, known issues, and information on submitting defect reports.
