Chrome to bring a new epoch of web graphics to mobile and desktop

Google’s infamous and popular browser Chrome, which comes pre-installed on some of the best smartphones on the market, will get an update to WebGPU after six years of development time in collaboration with Microsoft, Apple, Intel and Mozilla. The update is expected to impact both the app and desktop experiences, and maybe other browsers that use Chromium as a base.

But wait, what is a WebGPU anyway? Why should you care? Well, a WebGPU is basically an API — something that enables different types of programs to “talk” to each other — that aims to improve the way that Chrome utilizes the hardware associated with the given system on a specific device.

Or, in simpler terms: a program that can improve the way that your hardware is used by Chrome in order to achieve prettier and more impressive visual results. Improvement in computational speeds is also expected too, which means less waiting around for loading.

But let's provide an applicable example. Google Meet is an online communication platform, which allows users to get on video calls. Since video is part of the visual department, this new WebGPU API will impact Meet too. A simple example would be that it will increase the responsiveness and accuracy of the blur that users can apply to their surroundings when on a call. Neat, right?

This update is also stated to improve rendering — in this context, the transformation of 2D images into 3D objects — too. This in turn amps up the performance of currently utilized tech and will allow for more impressive results for applications such as Unity’s WebGL, so gamers have something to look forward to too.

One of the goals with this update is to, quote, “have applications work portably across different user systems and browsers”. For you, this means better tools and higher productivity interaction. The tech is already available on the Chrome 113 stable beta, and it is expected to drop on PCs first, followed by a roll out for Android and Linux later on.

... all of this GPU talk got your thumbs itching, check out our recommendation on the best gaming phones available right now.