RenderScript in the Android Support Library

[Stefan]

The RenderScript Support Library lets you take advantage of the latest RenderScript features on devices running Android 2.2 and later.

One of the requests we hear most commonly from developers is to enable more devices to run the latest features of RenderScript. Over the past several releases of Android, we've added a ton of functionality to the RenderScript runtime, but the runtime's dependence on the core Android platform version has limited the range of devices that can support that new functionality. We've been working on a solution to this since last year, and we're now ready to share it with all Android developers.

Today we're announcing a new RenderScript Support Library and updated SDK tools that together let you take advantage of RenderScript on plaform versions all the way back to Android 2.2 (Froyo).

With ADT v22.2, SDK Tools v22.2, and Android Build Tools v18.1.0, apps targeting Android 2.2 and later can now make use of almost all of the functionality available natively in RenderScript with Android 4.3. This includes access to the newest RenderScript features such as high-performance intrinsics and the new performance optimizations available to scripts.