The latest update to Dolphin, identified as Progress Report Release 2512, introduces significant enhancements aimed at reducing frame latency, which is critical for improving gaming performance. A notable feature is the addition of RetroAchievements support for Android users, allowing them to earn trophies through an integrated achievement system.
Two new throttling modes have been introduced: Rush Frame Presentation and Smooth Frame Presentation. Rush Frame Presentation prioritizes the display of rendered images immediately after user input, while Smooth Frame Presentation slightly delays the presentation to ensure consistent frame output. These changes address longstanding issues with emulation latency, which can be exacerbated by various hardware factors.
Collaboration with experts from the Slippi and hardware adapter communities has led to the verification of these improvements, demonstrating that the new features can reduce latency by up to 10ms in optimal conditions. Connectivity enhancements have also been made with the introduction of Broadband Adapter Inter-Process Communication, enabling better network connections for GameCube games. Although the new features are turned off by default, users can enable them through the advanced settings.