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Khronos Group launches a lighter version of OpenGL graphics standard

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 1 min

A popular graphics standard is getting an upgrade today as Khronos Group unveils Open GL 3.1 as well as an open standard for 3-D positional audio for mobile devices.

OpenGL, which competes with Microsoft’s 3D graphics software, allows machines, such as Apple computers, to tap the power of graphics chips. OpenGL is used in Linux, mobile devices, and a variety of Windows applications too. There are more than a 100 members of the Khronos Group, a nonprofit standards body established in 2000. Members include Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Nvidia, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Mozilla and others.

The previous version of OpenGL 3.0 debuted about nine months ago. Neil Trevett, president of the Khronos Group, said the new version is actually smaller in storage requirements than previous versions because the group decided to remove obsolete functions. So it’s easier and more efficient to implement. Hence, OpenGL 3.1 is closer to its mobile version, OpenGL ES.

Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.