A method includes obtaining a request for one of multiple operational modes from an application installed on an extended reality (XR) device or an XR runtime/renderer of the XR device. The method also includes selecting a first mode of the operational modes, based at least partly on a real-time system performance of the XR device. The method also includes publishing the selected first mode to the XR runtime/renderer or the application. The method also includes performing a task related to at least one of image rendering or computer vision calculations for the application, using an algorithm associated with the selected first mode.