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?
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.