diff --git a/common/minja/minja.hpp b/common/minja/minja.hpp
index 1a30499e7..c4f40b17e 100644
--- a/common/minja/minja.hpp
+++ b/common/minja/minja.hpp
@@ -2606,14 +2606,18 @@ inline std::shared_ptr<Context> Context::builtins() {
     auto & text = args.at("text");
     return text.is_null() ? text : Value(strip(text.get<std::string>()));
   }));
-  globals.set("lower", simple_function("lower", { "text" }, [](const std::shared_ptr<Context> &, Value & args) {
-    auto text = args.at("text");
-    if (text.is_null()) return text;
-    std::string res;
-    auto str = text.get<std::string>();
-    std::transform(str.begin(), str.end(), std::back_inserter(res), ::tolower);
-    return Value(res);
-  }));
+  auto char_transform_function = [](const std::string & name, const std::function<char(char)> & fn) {
+    return simple_function(name, { "text" }, [=](const std::shared_ptr<Context> &, Value & args) {
+      auto text = args.at("text");
+      if (text.is_null()) return text;
+      std::string res;
+      auto str = text.get<std::string>();
+      std::transform(str.begin(), str.end(), std::back_inserter(res), fn);
+      return Value(res);
+    });
+  };
+  globals.set("lower", char_transform_function("lower", ::tolower));
+  globals.set("upper", char_transform_function("upper", ::toupper));
   globals.set("default", Value::callable([=](const std::shared_ptr<Context> &, ArgumentsValue & args) {
     args.expectArgs("default", {2, 3}, {0, 1});
     auto & value = args.args[0];
diff --git a/docs/backend/OPENCL.md b/docs/backend/OPENCL.md
index 2a946dc8d..07146f710 100644
--- a/docs/backend/OPENCL.md
+++ b/docs/backend/OPENCL.md
@@ -145,8 +145,13 @@ A Snapdragon X Elite device with Windows 11 Arm64 is used. Make sure the followi
 * Clang 19
 * Ninja
 * Visual Studio 2022
+* Powershell 7
 
-Powershell is used for the following instructions.
+Visual Studio provides necessary headers and libraries although it is not directly used for building.
+Alternatively, Visual Studio Build Tools can be installed instead of the full Visual Studio.
+
+Powershell 7 is used for the following commands.
+If an older version of Powershell is used, these commands may not work as they are.
 
 ### I. Setup Environment
 
@@ -196,10 +201,9 @@ ninja
 
 ## Known Issues
 
-- Qwen2.5 0.5B model produces gibberish output with Adreno kernels.
+- Currently OpenCL backend does not work on Adreno 6xx GPUs.
 
 ## TODO
 
-- Fix Qwen2.5 0.5B
 - Optimization for Q6_K
 - Support and optimization for Q4_K
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/fattn.cu b/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/fattn.cu
index 8edc12649..7a2d1e453 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/fattn.cu
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-cuda/fattn.cu
@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ void ggml_cuda_flash_attn_ext(ggml_backend_cuda_context & ctx, ggml_tensor * dst
     const bool gqa_opt_applies = ((Q->ne[2] / K->ne[2]) % 2 == 0) && mask; // The mma-based kernels have GQA-specific optimizations
     const bool mma_needs_data_conversion = K->type != GGML_TYPE_F16 || V->type != GGML_TYPE_F16;
     const bool mma_faster_for_bs1 = new_mma_available(cc) && gqa_opt_applies && cc < GGML_CUDA_CC_ADA_LOVELACE && !mma_needs_data_conversion;
-    const bool can_use_vector_kernel = (Q->ne[0] % (2*warp_size) == 0) && (prec == GGML_PREC_DEFAULT || Q->ne[0] <= 128);
+    const bool can_use_vector_kernel = Q->ne[0] % (2*warp_size) == 0;
     if (Q->ne[1] == 1 && can_use_vector_kernel && !mma_faster_for_bs1) {
         if (prec == GGML_PREC_DEFAULT) {
             ggml_cuda_flash_attn_ext_vec_f16(ctx, dst);
diff --git a/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp b/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp
index 7a03788f6..829cf9952 100644
--- a/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp
+++ b/ggml/src/ggml-vulkan/ggml-vulkan.cpp
@@ -33,6 +33,28 @@
 #include <future>
 #include <thread>
 
+#if defined(_MSC_VER)
+# define NOMINMAX 1
+# include <windows.h>
+# define YIELD() YieldProcessor()
+#elif defined(__clang__) || defined(__GNUC__)
+# if defined(__x86_64__) ||defined(__i386__)
+#  include <immintrin.h>
+#  define YIELD() _mm_pause()
+# elif defined(__arm__) || defined(__aarch64__)
+#  if defined(__clang__)
+#   include <arm_acle.h>
+#   define YIELD() __yield()
+#  else
+#   define YIELD() asm volatile("yield")
+#  endif
+# endif
+#endif
+
+#if !defined(YIELD)
+#define YIELD()
+#endif
+
 #include "ggml-impl.h"
 #include "ggml-backend-impl.h"
 
@@ -796,7 +818,8 @@ struct ggml_backend_vk_context {
     ggml_vk_garbage_collector gc;
     size_t prealloc_size_x, prealloc_size_y, prealloc_size_split_k;
     vk_buffer prealloc_x, prealloc_y, prealloc_split_k;
-    vk::Fence fence;
+    vk::Fence fence, almost_ready_fence;
+    bool almost_ready_fence_pending {};
 
     vk_buffer buffer_pool[MAX_VK_BUFFERS];
 
@@ -887,6 +910,39 @@ typedef void (*ggml_vk_func_t)(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, vk_context& subctx
 
 static void ggml_backend_vk_free(ggml_backend_t backend);
 
+// Wait for ctx->fence to be signaled.
+static void ggml_vk_wait_for_fence(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx) {
+    // Use waitForFences while most of the graph executes. Hopefully the CPU can sleep
+    // during this wait.
+    if (ctx->almost_ready_fence_pending) {
+        VK_CHECK(ctx->device->device.waitForFences({ ctx->almost_ready_fence }, true, UINT64_MAX), "almost_ready_fence");
+        ctx->device->device.resetFences({ ctx->almost_ready_fence });
+        ctx->almost_ready_fence_pending = false;
+    }
+
+    // Spin (w/pause) waiting for the graph to finish executing.
+    vk::Result result;
+    while ((result = ctx->device->device.getFenceStatus(ctx->fence)) != vk::Result::eSuccess) {
+        if (result != vk::Result::eNotReady) {
+            fprintf(stderr, "ggml_vulkan: error %s at %s:%d\n", to_string(result).c_str(), __FILE__, __LINE__);
+            exit(1);
+        }
+        for (uint32_t i = 0; i < 100; ++i) {
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+            YIELD();
+        }
+    }
+    ctx->device->device.resetFences({ ctx->fence });
+}
+
 // variables to track number of compiles in progress
 static uint32_t compile_count = 0;
 static std::mutex compile_count_mutex;
@@ -3372,6 +3428,7 @@ static void ggml_vk_init(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, size_t idx) {
     ctx->prealloc_size_split_k = 0;
 
     ctx->fence = ctx->device->device.createFence({});
+    ctx->almost_ready_fence = ctx->device->device.createFence({});
 
 #ifdef GGML_VULKAN_CHECK_RESULTS
     const char* skip_checks = getenv("GGML_VULKAN_SKIP_CHECKS");
@@ -7976,11 +8033,11 @@ static void ggml_vk_preallocate_buffers(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx) {
     }
 }
 
-static bool ggml_vk_compute_forward(ggml_backend_vk_context* ctx, ggml_tensor* tensor, int tensor_idx, bool use_fence);
+static bool ggml_vk_compute_forward(ggml_backend_vk_context* ctx, ggml_tensor* tensor, int tensor_idx, bool use_fence, bool almost_ready);
 
 // Returns true if node has enqueued work into the queue, false otherwise
 // If submit is true the current all operations queued so far are being submitted to Vulkan to overlap cmdlist creation and GPU execution.
-static bool ggml_vk_build_graph(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor * node, int node_idx, ggml_tensor *node_begin, int node_idx_begin, bool dryrun, bool last_node, bool submit){
+static bool ggml_vk_build_graph(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor * node, int node_idx, ggml_tensor *node_begin, int node_idx_begin, bool dryrun, bool last_node, bool almost_ready, bool submit){
     if (ggml_is_empty(node) || !node->buffer) {
         return false;
     }
@@ -8352,7 +8409,7 @@ static bool ggml_vk_build_graph(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor * nod
 
         ctx->compute_ctx.reset();
 
-        bool ok = ggml_vk_compute_forward(ctx, node_begin, node_idx_begin, false);
+        bool ok = ggml_vk_compute_forward(ctx, node_begin, node_idx_begin, false, almost_ready);
         if (!ok) {
             if (node->op == GGML_OP_UNARY) {
                 std::cerr << __func__ << ": error: op not supported UNARY " << node->name << " (" << ggml_unary_op_name(static_cast<ggml_unary_op>(node->op_params[0])) << ")" << std::endl;
@@ -8366,7 +8423,7 @@ static bool ggml_vk_build_graph(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor * nod
     return true;
 }
 
-static bool ggml_vk_compute_forward(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor * tensor, int tensor_idx, bool use_fence = true){
+static bool ggml_vk_compute_forward(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor * tensor, int tensor_idx, bool use_fence = true, bool almost_ready = false) {
     ggml_backend_buffer * buf = nullptr;
 
     switch (tensor->op) {
@@ -8469,12 +8526,15 @@ static bool ggml_vk_compute_forward(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx, ggml_tensor *
             memcpy(cpy.dst, cpy.src, cpy.n);
         }
 
-        ggml_vk_submit(subctx, use_fence ? ctx->fence : vk::Fence{});
+        if (almost_ready && !ctx->almost_ready_fence_pending && !use_fence) {
+            ggml_vk_submit(subctx, ctx->almost_ready_fence);
+            ctx->almost_ready_fence_pending = true;
+        } else {
+            ggml_vk_submit(subctx, use_fence ? ctx->fence : vk::Fence{});
+        }
 
         if (use_fence) {
-            VK_CHECK(ctx->device->device.waitForFences({ ctx->fence }, true, UINT64_MAX), "ggml_vk_compute_forward waitForFences");
-
-            ctx->device->device.resetFences({ ctx->fence });
+            ggml_vk_wait_for_fence(ctx);
         }
 #ifdef GGML_VULKAN_CHECK_RESULTS
         ggml_vk_check_results_1(tensor);
@@ -8560,6 +8620,7 @@ static void ggml_vk_cleanup(ggml_backend_vk_context * ctx) {
     ctx->gc.events.clear();
 
     ctx->device->device.destroyFence(ctx->fence);
+    ctx->device->device.destroyFence(ctx->almost_ready_fence);
 }
 
 static int ggml_vk_get_device_count() {
@@ -8906,8 +8967,7 @@ static void ggml_backend_vk_synchronize(ggml_backend_t backend) {
     }
 
     ggml_vk_submit(transfer_ctx, ctx->fence);
-    VK_CHECK(ctx->device->device.waitForFences({ ctx->fence }, true, UINT64_MAX), "ggml_backend_vk_synchronize waitForFences");
-    ctx->device->device.resetFences({ ctx->fence });
+    ggml_vk_wait_for_fence(ctx);
 
     for (auto& cpy : transfer_ctx->out_memcpys) {
         memcpy(cpy.dst, cpy.src, cpy.n);
@@ -8926,7 +8986,7 @@ static ggml_status ggml_backend_vk_graph_compute(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_cg
 
     uint64_t total_mat_mul_bytes = 0;
     for (int i = 0; i < cgraph->n_nodes; i++) {
-        ggml_vk_build_graph(ctx, cgraph->nodes[i], i, nullptr, 0, true, false, false);
+        ggml_vk_build_graph(ctx, cgraph->nodes[i], i, nullptr, 0, true, false, false, false);
         if (cgraph->nodes[i]->op == GGML_OP_MUL_MAT || cgraph->nodes[i]->op == GGML_OP_MUL_MAT_ID) {
             total_mat_mul_bytes += ggml_nbytes(cgraph->nodes[i]->src[0]);
         }
@@ -8968,11 +9028,14 @@ static ggml_status ggml_backend_vk_graph_compute(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_cg
             mul_mat_bytes += ggml_nbytes(cgraph->nodes[i]->src[0]);
         }
 
+        // Signal the almost_ready fence when the graph is mostly complete (< 20% remaining)
+        bool almost_ready = (cgraph->n_nodes - i) < cgraph->n_nodes / 5;
         bool submit = (submitted_nodes >= nodes_per_submit) ||
                       (mul_mat_bytes >= mul_mat_bytes_per_submit) ||
-                      (i == last_node);
+                      (i == last_node) ||
+                      (almost_ready && !ctx->almost_ready_fence_pending);
 
-        bool enqueued = ggml_vk_build_graph(ctx, cgraph->nodes[i], i, cgraph->nodes[submit_node_idx], submit_node_idx, false, i == last_node, submit);
+        bool enqueued = ggml_vk_build_graph(ctx, cgraph->nodes[i], i, cgraph->nodes[submit_node_idx], submit_node_idx, false, i == last_node, almost_ready, submit);
 
         if (enqueued) {
             ++submitted_nodes;
@@ -8984,7 +9047,7 @@ static ggml_status ggml_backend_vk_graph_compute(ggml_backend_t backend, ggml_cg
 #endif
         }
 
-        if (submit) {
+        if (submit && enqueued) {
             first_node_in_batch = true;
             submitted_nodes = 0;
             mul_mat_bytes = 0;
diff --git a/src/llama-vocab.cpp b/src/llama-vocab.cpp
index 27bdcdf2b..4cd27a58f 100644
--- a/src/llama-vocab.cpp
+++ b/src/llama-vocab.cpp
@@ -2461,14 +2461,12 @@ void llama_vocab::impl::tokenizer_st_partition(std::forward_list<fragment_buffer
                     // find the first occurrence of a given special token in this fragment
                     //  passing offset argument only limit the "search area" but match coordinates
                     //  are still relative to the source full raw_text
-                    auto match = raw_text.find(text, raw_text_base_offset);
+                    //  string_view begins at pos 0 for the same reason
+                    auto match = std::string_view(raw_text.data(), raw_text_base_offset + raw_text_base_length).find(text, raw_text_base_offset);
 
                     // no occurrences found, stop processing this fragment for a given special token
                     if (match == std::string::npos) break;
 
-                    // check if match is within bounds of offset <-> length
-                    if (match + text.length() > raw_text_base_offset + raw_text_base_length) break;
-
 #ifdef PRETOKENIZERDEBUG
                     LLAMA_LOG_WARN("FF: (%ld %ld %ld) '%s'\n", raw_text->length(), raw_text_base_offset, raw_text_base_length, raw_text->substr(raw_text_base_offset, raw_text_base_length).c_str());
 #endif