Browser "Union"! Apple/Google/Mozilla/Microsoft join forces to tackle web 'interoperability'

The big four browser makers, Apple, Google, Mozilla and Microsoft, as well as software consultancies Bocoup and Igalia, have agreed to join forces to improve their web Browser interoperability and user experience make web design techniques more consistent across platforms.

The group created a benchmark called Interop 2022 that will "improve the web development experience in 15 key areas" (the 15 areas include Cascade Layers, Color Spaces and Functions, and CSS Color Functions, new viewport units , Scrolling, and subgrids, etc.) to evaluate how different vendors implement some web standards to eliminate differences, the project will focus on the four browsers involved: Safari, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox.

Google's Rachel Andrew, Philip Jägenstedt and Robert Nyman blogged last Thursday: "For the first time ever, all major browser vendors and other stakeholders have come together to address web developer discovery. top browser compatibility issues."

Apple also said in a statement: "All of these technologies are important to Apple and to all who work on WebKit. We care deeply about the health of the web and the interoperable implementation of web standards." "We welcome collaboration with many web standards organizations. Collaborate with colleagues and make the network as interoperable as possible in Interop 2022.”

In fact, this is not the first time browser makers have teamed up for similar work. As early as 2021, they collaborated on a similar network technology compatibility check called "COMPATE 2021" and "made great progress."

However, the "COMPATE 2021" project mainly focuses on five pain points - CSS Flexbox, CSS Grid, position:sticky, aspect ratio, and CSS transitions, and the project does not include Apple or its WebKit team. In this regard, the Interop 2022 blog post also states that they "still have room for improvement."

The Interop 2022 specification, however, provides a way for companies that are often competitors to find common ground because they are design-oriented and lack obvious privacy, security or functional implications.

It's no secret that extending browser capabilities with new APIs and new features is sometimes disregarded or repugnant by competitors, especially when the proposal involves a business model.

For example, Apple was slow to implement certain web APIs in Safari and WebKit that would help web apps compete with native iOS apps. Meanwhile, Google has also decided to introduce a new privacy-preserving way to advertise (its privacy sandbox) after Apple, Brave, and Mozilla started eating the web. In 2019, Google blocked proposed changes to the W3C Privacy Interest Group Charter over concerns that the changes would affect its ability to innovate...

It's only in the past year that, as regulators continue to press Apple and Google over competition, these top browser makers have worked harder to cooperate rather than compete to offer features that lack widespread acceptance.

And now, we've heard a firm voice from Apple web developer evangelist Jen Simmons: "We care deeply about the health of the web, and the interoperable implementation of web standards."

It is reported that this Interop 2022 will test the performance of the browser on various benchmarks. It turns out that with some stable browser versions, things look pretty bad.

Among them, Chrome and Edge scored 61 points out of 100; Firefox scored 69 points; Safari scored 50 points. However, the Big Four browsers showed improved results across various experimental and preview browser versions: scores of 71, 74, and 73, respectively.

It appears that this kind of technical coordination and cooperation among browser-making rivals is good for both the network and users.

As Andrew, Jägenstedt, and Nyman explained in the Google blog post mentioned above: "Essentially, our goal is to make the web platform more usable and reliable for developers so they can spend more time building good web experience, rather than addressing browser inconsistencies."