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How can I optimize shader performance for AR on low-power devices?
Asked on Jan 03, 2026
Answer
Optimizing shader performance for AR on low-power devices involves reducing computational complexity while maintaining visual quality. This can be achieved by using efficient rendering techniques, simplifying shader calculations, and leveraging hardware-specific optimizations.
<!-- BEGIN COPY / PASTE -->
// Example: Simplified Phong Lighting Shader
Shader "Custom/SimplePhong" {
Properties {
_Color ("Color", Color) = (1,1,1,1)
_MainTex ("Albedo (RGB)", 2D) = "white" {}
}
SubShader {
Tags { "RenderType"="Opaque" }
LOD 200
Pass {
CGPROGRAM
#pragma vertex vert
#pragma fragment frag
#include "UnityCG.cginc"
struct appdata_t {
float4 vertex : POSITION;
float3 normal : NORMAL;
};
struct v2f {
float4 pos : SV_POSITION;
float3 normal : TEXCOORD0;
};
fixed4 _Color;
sampler2D _MainTex;
v2f vert (appdata_t v) {
v2f o;
o.pos = UnityObjectToClipPos(v.vertex);
o.normal = UnityObjectToWorldNormal(v.normal);
return o;
}
fixed4 frag (v2f i) : SV_Target {
fixed3 lightDir = normalize(_WorldSpaceLightPos0.xyz);
fixed diff = max(0, dot(i.normal, lightDir));
fixed4 tex = tex2D(_MainTex, i.normal.xy);
return tex * _Color * diff;
}
ENDCG
}
}
}
<!-- END COPY / PASTE -->Additional Comment:
- Minimize the number of shader passes and use simpler lighting models like Lambert or Phong.
- Reduce texture sampling by combining textures or using lower resolution textures.
- Utilize shader variants to disable unused features for specific hardware capabilities.
- Profile shader performance using tools like Unity's Frame Debugger or RenderDoc to identify bottlenecks.
- Consider using baked lighting or lightmaps to reduce real-time calculations.
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