- Apple, Google, and Mozilla are working on the next Speedometer benchmark to measure real-world browser performance.
- Google aims to include representative modern workloads, like JavaScript frameworks, in the next version.
- Mozilla stated that the collaboration will allow companies to build the best version to help make the Web faster for years to come.
Apple, the creator of Speedometer, a popular web browser benchmark, is now working with Google and Mozilla to build a new version of the solution, Speedometer 3. The new version aims to provide a more accurate assessment of the browser speed. It simulates user interactions to measure browser responsiveness.
In active development
According to the project’s GitHub page, it is in active development for now and recommends users refer to it as version 2.1. Google stated that they aim to include representative modern workloads, such as JavaScript frameworks in the new version.
[1/3] We’re joining an important collab with Apple @WebKit & @firefox to work on the next Speedometer benchmark to measure real-world browser performance. https://t.co/GOxM6pIrkX
— Chrome (@googlechrome) December 15, 2022
Mozilla also tweeted about the development process and said,
« We have lots of ideas on how to make things better. Many require collaboration across site authors, framework builders, browser vendors and standards groups, which requires a shared understanding of what matters. Historically benchmarks haven’t done a great job at this and have actively competed for attention with the needs of real sites.
Speedometer 2 was a leap forward when it shipped in 2018, but it’s time to update it to test real user journeys from online life today. Unlike some past benchmarks, Speedometer 3 is being started as a cross-industry collaborative effort. Building this will be hard work, and working together gives us a chance to build the best version to help make the Web faster for years to come. »
The project’s GitHub page states that Speedometer uses multistakeholder governance, which allows sharing work and building a collaborative understanding of performance on the web in order to drive resourcing towards wherever it is needed. It also provides a structure that can endure to provide maintenance and adapt to the future web. Its primary objective is to make it reflect the real-world Web as much as possible. When a browser improves its score on the benchmark, actual users should benefit. In order to achieve this, it should:
- Test end-to-end user journeys instead of testing specific features in a tight loop. Each test should exercise the full set of what’s needed from the engine in order for a user to accomplish a task.
- Evolve over time, adapting to the present Web on a regular basis. This should be informed by current usage data and by consensus about features that are important for engines to optimize to provide a consistent experience for users and site authors.
- Be accessible to the public and useful to browser engineers. It should run in every modern browser by visiting a normal web page. It should run relatively quickly while providing enough test coverage to be reflective of the real-world Web.