Qt 6.11 introduces Qt Canvas Painter, major 3D improvements, new graph capabilities & more

Qt 6.11 is now available as the latest version of the cross-platform application framework focused on graphical user interfaces and application development. This update introduces Qt Canvas Painter, a new 2D graphics module built on the Rendering Hardware Interface for hardware-accelerated drawing. Canvas Painter includes advanced features such as adjustable antialiasing, box gradients, shadows, grid patterns, custom shader brushes, and color effects, which enable visually rich and efficient user interface workflows.

In addition to Canvas Painter, this release brings significant enhancements in 3D visualization. Screen Space Global Illumination (SSGI) simulates real-time light bounces for more realistic lighting, while Screen Space Reflections (SSR) render on-screen reflections using pixel-based raymarching. Per-object motion vectors support a balance of computational cost and output fidelity. Qt Quick 3D users also gain new customization options for render passes. With these 3 enhancements, the Qt team states that the Qt framework now offers “the same 3D capabilities as a game engine”.

Building on these updates, Qt 6.11 introduces new methods for creating and interacting with graphs, as well as Qt TaskTree, a technology preview module that offers a declarative approach to asynchronous workflows in C++. By defining workflows as reusable recipes, developers can automate task management more intuitively.

The release also features improvements to the user interface framework, additional 2D capabilities, web and connectivity updates, and streamlined QML and C++ integration.