Google adds WebGL support in latest Chrome for Android beta(thenextweb.com)

57 pointsby ljfvor 14 Jahren27 comments

Google adds WebGL support in latest Chrome for Android beta

http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/01/25/google-finally-makes-it-easy-to-enable-webgl-support-in-latest-chrome-for-android-beta/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

27 comments

ConstantineXVIvor 14 Jahren

It's got noticeably better performance than Firefox for Android (on a N7, using [0] as a "benchmark"); but Chrome doesn't seem to have audio support.

EDIT: hm, Chrome doesn't seem to want to grab the audio at all; on both the pages I've tried, the audio downloads just hang as "Pending" in the inspector [1] [2]

[0] http://apps.playcanvas.com/will/doom3/gangnamstyle

[1] http://monosnap.com/image/5F201GaEW7UUfEZKOSfPjTLQW

[2] http://monosnap.com/image/G9U7tpuoCVlvMFli8NgOBB9tD

kayoonevor 14 Jahren

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6js5K08m3g

Didnt realize that WebGL already is on such a good performance level on mobile devices, impressive and exciting!

AndrewDuckervor 14 Jahren

Firefox for Android already supports WebGL - seems to work fine on my Galaxy Nexus.

patrickaljordvor 14 Jahren

I never got it working more than a few seconds without it crashing the whole browser.

stuaxovor 14 Jahren

It's about time, I remember seeing Sony doing webgl on their experia android phones a while back

http://developer.sonymobile.com/2012/01/25/webgl-implementat...

dave1010ukvor 14 Jahren

Also, the Nokia N900's browser supported WebGL in 2009.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/03/nokia-n900-impressively-d...

nextparadigmsvor 14 Jahren

Well I wouldn't to see in Nokia's devices anymore anytime. Also these have all been just experiments. Even Apple has implemented part of WebGl in the iOS browser I think. But if Chrome beta has it, then the next stable version should have it, too.

azakaivor 14 Jahren

The HN title is misleading. It is still not enabled by default, it just got easier to manually switch on, so it wasn't "added". Still, this is good progress.

ljfvor 14 Jahren

Just been playing with the Quake 3 demo on my Nexus 4 and it looks stunning - really excited to see where this takes mobile casual games.

jamesmiller5vor 14 Jahren

A really cool set of WebGL shader demos that also work.

http://www.iquilezles.org/apps/shadertoy/

bsenftnervor 14 Jahren

I hope this pressures Apple to support WebGL in iOS Safari.

randomfoolvor 14 Jahren

I believe that they are waiting for arb_robustness.

http://www.opengl.org/registry/specs/ARB/robustness.txt

MayorOfMonkeysvor 14 Jahren

Fascinating. Thanks for sharing the link to that extension. What makes you say Apple are waiting on this extension? I hadn't heard that before myself.

kevingaddvor 14 Jahren

How can Apple be waiting for a spec that was approved in 2010 when Apple writes and maintains their own GL implementations on all their platforms?

otibomvor 14 Jahren

When is Chrome officially replacing the Android browser ?

josteinkvor 14 Jahren

Hopefully after they've fixed the woeful performance which is plaguing it.

nextparadigmsvor 14 Jahren

It already has with Android 4.1. But manufacturers might keep customizing the previous open source browser instead, for the time being at least.

nodatavor 14 Jahren

Are you sure? When I use the Google search widget to find something, the browser it gives me doesn't seem to be Chrome.

nextparadigmsvor 14 Jahren

Are you using a Nexus device? I don't think they replaced the browser on Nexus devices older than Nexus 7. Only new devices that have been launched after June last year with Android 4.1 on board should have it by default, and as I said most manufacturers have probably left the other browser in there even on new devices. But the new Nexus/Motorola devices should have it.

nodatavor 14 Jahren

Yes Nexus 4

bsimpsonvor 14 Jahren

Settings > Manage Apps > Browser > Clear Defaults

Next time you click a link, it will ask you which browser you like. Choose Chrome.

justincormackvor 14 Jahren

As soon as you click a link it goes into Chrome on mine.

nodatavor 14 Jahren

If you hold press a link, do you get an option to open in a new tab?

justincormackvor 14 Jahren

No. The actual results screen does appear to be a custom odd thing, and you cant see tabs until you click.

nodatavor 14 Jahren

I find this annoying - it's on search result pages that I am very likely to want to open lots of tabs. Ugh.

justincormackvor 14 Jahren

But clicking any link opens in a new chrome tabs. The list is not itself a chrome tab...

coopaqvor 14 Jahren

chrome://flags

enable webgl