According to an announcement by Google, the company will soon roll out WebGPU, a new feature that will enable Chrome browsers to utilize graphics cards for accelerated gaming, graphics, and AI performance.
Google stated that WebGPU will provide web applications with enhanced access to graphics cards, allowing developers to achieve comparable graphics quality with less code. This could result in the creation of innovative Chrome browser-based 3D apps and improved gaming experiences.
Additionally, Google mentioned that WebGPU will also enable significant improvements in machine learning model inferences, potentially tripling the performance. This could open the door to locally run machine learning applications, similar to NVIDIA Broadcast’s unique “eye contact” feature.
“WebGPU is a new web graphics API that offers significant benefits such as greatly reduced JavaScript workload for the same graphics and more than three times improvements in machine learning model inferences. This is possible due to more flexible GPU programming and access to advanced capabilities that WebGL does not provide.” Said the official announcement.
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The development of this API has been in progress for a significant period of time, with its initial design dating back to 2017.
The initial release of WebGPU is currently accessible in Chrome 113 on ChromeOS devices with Vulkan support, Windows devices with Direct3D 12 support, and macOS. Support for Linux, Android, and expanded support for existing platforms is expected to arrive soon. Furthermore, WebGPU is still a work-in-progress in Firefox and Safari, in addition to the initial implementation in Chrome.
According to Google, the current release of WebGPU serves as a foundation for future updates and enhancements. They have promised to introduce more advanced graphics features and deeper access to shader cores in the future. Additionally, improvements to the development process for content that runs on WebGPU are also expected. This indicates that WebGPU will continue to evolve and offer enhanced capabilities for web-based graphics and game development.
In the future, Google says that it will be expanded to support additional operating systems, including Linux and Android.
If you’re curious, you can try Babylon.js, which already has full WebGPU support, with Chrome Beta.
Feat image: courtesy of Google
