GAMA (GPU API Manager for Android-based devices) is a Windows batch script that changes your Android device’s GPU API — no root needed.
It’s tailor-made for One UI 7 users battling overheating, throttled performance, and suboptimal battery life, especially S23 users - Forcing Vulkan rendering is a great way to enhance performance, increase battery life and lower running temperatures.
The unofficial Linux equivalent of GAMA (many thanks to Ameen Sha Cheerangan)
- A Windows PC
- Your Android device (with USB Debugging enabled)
- The latest version of GAMA
- Extract the GAMA archive
- Connect your device via USB (make sure USB Debugging is enabled, otherwise GAMA won't recognise your device; make sure you only connect ONE device - the one you want GAMA to affect! Otherwise, you will get an error)
- Double-click "gama-core.bat"
- Settings > About phone > Software information > Press 7 times on Build number, input your password and a new "Developer options" button will appear at the very bottom of the Settings app
- Developer options > Scroll down and find "USB Debugging"; enable it and you're ready to race!
Heads up: You’ll need to run this script after every phone reboot.
- Visual artifacting. Adreno GPUs aboard Snapdragon SOCs usually have no problems with Vulkan, so your mileage may vary - though my personal experience with Vulkan has been great on my S23 Ultra.
- Not all apps will run under Vulkan. The majority will, but there will be some exceptions. Nothing can fix this - Samsung needs to adopt Vulkan on all of their models, and the app developers need to fix their apps.
Caused by system-wide app restart (aggressive app stop; solvable by using the more leanient "Normal" profile when GAMA asks you how aggressive it should be when stopping apps)
- The default browser and the default keyboard will get reset.
- Loss of WiFi-Calling/VoLTE capability - Fix: Go to Settings > Connections > SIM manager, then toggle SIM 1/2 off and back on. (many thanks to Fun-Flight4427 and ActualMountain7899 for reporting the bug and finding a solution)
Q: Why bother with Vulkan? A: Vulkan is a newer, low‑overhead graphics API. One UI 7 Beta 1 defaulted to Vulkan, which kept temperatures cool and battery life strong. Beta 2 reverted to OpenGL — enter overheating and drain. This script forces Vulkan back on.
Q: Is it safe? A: Absolutely! It leverages official ADB commands — no system hacks, no risk.
Q: Must I run it after every reboot? A: Yes, unfortunately.
Q: How do I pronounce "GAMA"? A: It's pronounced exactly the same as "gamma".
Q: Will this void my warranty or trip Knox? A: Nope! This doesn’t mess with bootloaders or root. It’s 100% Knox-safe and warranty-friendly.
Q: Will it break my phone? A: It’s just a graphics driver toggle - your device will be just fine.
Q: What if I don’t notice a difference? A: Some devices and apps won’t show a huge change, but Vulkan generally offers better performance and thermal management. If you’re not seeing improvement, your phone might already be optimized.
Q: Can I undo this? A: Yup. GAMA now natively supports back-and-forth API changing - OpenGL-to-Vulkan or Vulkan-to-OpenGL. Easy peasy. Besides, a reboot wIll also reset the driver back to OpenGL, so you've got plenty of options!
Q: Why isn’t this a built-in setting already?! A: Great question — ask Samsung. If you ask me, this smells a whole lot like planned obsolescence to me... but anyway.