NVIDIA Shield Tablet and Tablet K1 updated with Vulkan 1.0.1.0 support

Owners of the NVIDIA Shield Tablet and Shield Tablet K1 can download a small software update for their Android-based devices. The biggest addition in this new update is support for Vulkan 1.0.1.0, the latest version of the API that allows for higher efficiency access to the tablets’ graphics hardware.

The software update is version 4.4 for the Shield Tablet and 1.5 for the Tablet K1 version. Both updates also fix a bug that might cause a boot loop issue with certain SD cards that are nearing their capacity limit. In addition, the update brings a fix for a security issue (Android Privilege Escalation Exploit CVE-2016-5195), which is also known as “Dirty COW”. Finally, a number of unnamed “stability and security improvements” are bundled in this update, too.

NVIDIA recently cancelled its FCC certification filing for a possible successor to the Shield Tablet K1. So far, the company has not yet revealed any plans, or even hints, that it will release a new Android tablet product, although it did state recently that a custom version of its Tegra chip that are part of both tablets is being made for Nintendo’s upcoming portable-home game console hybrid, the Nintendo Switch.