Raw Image vs Image?

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I can't understant why Raw Image component exists. In the manual it claims

" you can use it to display any texture available to the Unity player. For example, you might show an image downloaded from a URL using the WWW class or a texture from an object in a game"

However you can create a Sprite from texture with no problem using Sprite.Create(texture);

So the entire of purpose of Raw Image escapes me.

Just wondering if anyone knows of a performance reason or anything of the like?

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Answer by steakpinball · Sep 22, 2015 at 01:38 PM

Image is for displaying Sprites only. RawImage is for displaying any type of texture.

Sprites are easier to work with, but Sprite.Create is an expensive operation. It takes a comparatively long time and uses a lot of memory. It should be used sparingly. By using a RawImage you can skip the step of creating a sprite. If displaying something like a RenderTexture using an Image you would need to call Sprite.Create every frame. That would be quite taxing.

Bottom Line: Use RawImage when you already have a plain texture, because converting it to a sprite would be slower and use more memory.

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chilemanga · Jan 26, 2016 at 01:53 PM 1

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Thanks for your answer @brianturner, but, can you elaborate a little bit more on when to use what? When to use sprites (Image)? When to use plain texture (Raw Image)?

The only case in which I'm thinking Sprites are a good choice, should be in elements that uses fillAmount (like progress bars or stuff like that). Thanks again!

fffMalzbier chilemanga · Jan 26, 2016 at 03:50 PM 2

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Form the Documentation for RawImage

$$anonymous$$eep in mind that this will create an extra draw call with each RawImage present, so it's best to use it only for backgrounds or temporary visible graphics.

Rockaso · Nov 26, 2018 at 11:43 PM 0

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Excellent, I love bottom lanes

drew55 · Jul 11, 2019 at 04:39 AM 0

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That means the per-frame performance is slower though it seems.

What about if you were loading a large user-provided image (e.g. a high res backdrop) and planned to have it persist for the rest of the user's session? Would it make sense to convert to a Sprite then? How would you go from raw image bytes (e.g. a jpg file) to a Sprite that is ready to go?

Raw Image vs Image?

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