Pixel Bender is a technology, new to Flash Player 10, that implements generalized graphics processing in the Pixel Bender language. The programs written using Pixel Bender are known as kernels or shaders. Shaders have the advantage of being able to be run across multiple CPUs and CPU cores, unlike the graphics processing done via the Flash graphics API. This gives shaders the potential to be much faster.

One of the advantages of using Away3D version 3.x over version 2.x is the ability to use Pixel Bender shaders. The implementation of these shaders is largely hidden by the material classes that utilize them, meaning that they can be used much like the regular material classes, while at the same time offering a much higher level of detail.

A common misconception is that Flash Player 10 uses the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which is common to most video chipsets these days, to execute shaders. This is incorrect. Unlike some other Adobe products that also make use of Pixel Bender shaders, Flash Player 10 does not utilize the GPU when executing shaders.