diff --git a/release-notes.md b/release-notes.md
index 01f458ea..54915dd7 100644
--- a/release-notes.md
+++ b/release-notes.md
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 - Various bugfixes.
 - Tiles and workspaces can now be dragged with the mouse.
+- Vulkan is now the default renderer.
 
 # 1.6.0 (2024-09-25)
 
diff --git a/src/compositor.rs b/src/compositor.rs
index 5cda411b..91405259 100644
--- a/src/compositor.rs
+++ b/src/compositor.rs
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ fn start_compositor2(
         render_ctx_watchers: Default::default(),
         workspace_watchers: Default::default(),
         default_workspace_capture: Cell::new(true),
-        default_gfx_api: Cell::new(GfxApi::OpenGl),
+        default_gfx_api: Cell::new(GfxApi::Vulkan),
         activation_tokens: Default::default(),
         toplevel_lists: Default::default(),
         dma_buf_ids: Default::default(),