PWA
tip
Summary
| Characteristic | |
|---|---|
| Website | https://web.dev/progressive-web-apps/ |
| Platforms | Desktop, mobile |
| Rendering strategy | Browser engine |
| Code License | BSD 3-clause |
| Copyright | It's complicated |
| Documentation | https://web.dev/learn/ |
| Community | https://www.chromium.org/developers/discussion-groups |
| Latest version | N/A |
| Release cadence | Major versions: 4 weeks Minor/patch: As needed |
| Release support | 4-8 weeks |
| Update model | Automatically updated |
| Governance model | It's complicated |
Platform support:
| Windows | macOS | Linux | Android | iOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
warning
Even though browsers based on Chromium (like Chrome and Edge) are available on iOS, the reality is that they use a different engine. The Apple Store policy only permits browser vendors to use the Safari WebView. Unfortunately, this browser engine only has a subset of the features available in Chromium and updates at a much lower rate.
There is more information about this in "iOS Engine Choice In Depth" by Alex Russell.
Language support:
| C++ | C# | Go | Java | JavaScript | Rust |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✅ |
Release cadence, version support and update model
Google releases a major version every 4 weeks. During this period it will receive minor updates as needed (bug fixes and security). Additionally there is an Extended Stable option that releases every 8 weeks. This version receives also security updates (every 2 weeks) but not all the ones that the 4 week version has. You can read more in this blog post.
Firefox release cycle is also 4 weeks for major versions and Safari does not have a public release cycle policy.
Chromium based browsers and Firefox update automatically without user intervention while Safari requires the user to update the Operating System on iOS or accept the update process on macOS.
Governance
TBD