Google has announced that WebGPU, an application programming interface that provides web apps with increased access to the capabilities of your graphics card, will be enabled by default in Chrome 113, which is expected to be released in around three weeks. WebGPU will be accessible on Windows personal computers equipped with Direct3D 12 and Vulkan support, as well as macOS and ChromeOS devices with Vulkan support.
According to a post on a blog, WebGPU can give “more than three times increases in machine learning model inferences” and enable developers to accomplish the same level of graphics as they can present with a significantly reduced amount of code. This final benefit is a real game-changer: improved machine learning performance was intriguing in 2021 when it was added to Chrome on an experimental basis. However, given that we now live in an era of generative artificial intelligence and large language models, it has the potential to be an even greater asset. There is a great deal of space for innovative machine learning applications, despite the fact that services such as Google’s Bard and Microsoft’s Bing do not truly make use of the hardware on your local computer.
Naturally, this might also enable game creators to create more aesthetically pleasing work for browser games. If you are utilizing the Chrome Beta, Babylon.js has a demonstration that is rather remarkable that you may try out.
The release that took place this month, according to Google, “serves as a building block for future updates and enhancements.” The company has promised that future releases will include “more advanced graphics features” and “deeper access to shader cores,” along with improvements to the process of actually developing content that can run on WebGPU.
A considerable amount of time has been spent on the development of the API. It was conceptualized in 2017, and ever since then, continual development has been taking place for it. It is also not a standard that is exclusive to Chrome; in the not-too-distant future, Firefox and Safari should also be able to support it. Google has stated that it is actively striving to improve its implementation so that it can support a wider variety of operating systems, such as Linux and Android.
In related Chrome news, Google stated on Wednesday that it will make an effort to speed up the process of releasing new versions of the browser in the future. Although the stable releases will not be coming out any earlier (in fact, their release schedule has been pushed back a week), Google plans to “feature freeze” them later, which will shorten the time between when developers stop adding new stuff to the build and when the general public gets it. This is because the stable releases will not be coming out any earlier. The development process should proceed more smoothly as a result of this.
Read also: