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Category: Safari

Up next for WebXPRT 4: A new AI-focused workload!

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on May 30, 2024

We’re always thinking about ways to improve WebXPRT. In the past, we’ve discussed the potential benefits of auxiliary workloads and the role that such workloads might play in future WebXPRT updates and versions. Today, we’re very excited to announce that we’ve decided to move forward with the development of a new WebXPRT 4 workload focused on browser-side AI technology!

WebXPRT 4 already includes timed AI tasks in two of its workloads: the Organize Album using AI workload and the Encrypt Notes and OCR Scan workload. These two workloads reflect the types of light browser-side inference tasks that have been available for a while now, but most heavy-duty inference on the web has historically happened in on-prem servers or in the cloud. Now, localized AI technology is growing by leaps and bounds, and the integration of new AI capabilities with browser-based tasks is on the threshold of advancing rapidly.

Because of this growth, we believe now is the time to start work on giving WebXPRT 4 the ability to evaluate new browser-based AI capabilities—capabilities that are likely to become a part of everyday life in the next few years. We haven’t yet decided on a test scenario or software stack for the new workload, but we’ll be working to refine our plan in the coming months. There seems to be some initial promise in emerging frameworks such as ONNX Runtime Web, which allows users to run and deploy web-based machine learning models by using JavaScript APIs and libraries. In addition, new Web APIs like WebGPU (currently supported in Edge, Chrome, and tech preview in Safari) and WebNN (in development) may soon help facilitate new browser-side AI workloads.

We know that many longtime WebXPRT 4 users will have questions about how this new workload may affect their tests. We want to assure you that the workload will be an optional bonus workload and will not run by default during normal WebXPRT 4 tests. As you consider possibilities for the new workload, here are a few points to keep in mind:

  • The workload will be optional for users to run.
  • It will not affect the main WebXPRT 4 subtest or overall scores in any way.
  • It will run separately from the main test and will produce its own score(s).
  • Current and future WebXPRT 4 results will still be comparable to one another, so users who’ve already built a database of WebXPRT 4 scores will not have to retest their devices.
  • Because many of the available frameworks don’t currently run on all browsers, the workload may not run on every platform.

As we research available technologies and explore our options, we would love to hear from you. If you have ideas for an AI workload scenario that you think would be useful or thoughts on how we should implement it, please let us know! We’re excited about adding new technologies and new value to WebXPRT 4, and we look forward to sharing more information here in the blog as we make progress.

Justin

Posted in AI, benchmark, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Chrome, Collaborative benchmark development, Future of performance evaluation, JavaScript, Microsoft Edge, on-device AI, ONNX Runtime Web, Performance benchmarking, Safari, WebGPU, WebNN, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , |

WebXPRT 4 is good to go with the latest Apple software release

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on December 11, 2023

Last month, we reported the good news that our WebXPRT 4 tests successfully ran to completion on the beta releases of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, and macOS Sonoma 14.2 with Safari 17.2. When we tested with those beta builds, WebXPRT 4 did not encounter the issue of test runs getting stuck on iOS 17.1 while attempting to complete the receipt scanning task in the Encrypt Notes and OCR Scan subtest. Unfortunately, during the past several weeks, this fix was only available to Apple users running beta software through the Apple Developer Program.

We’re happy to report that Apple has now finalized and published the general releases of iOS 17.2, iPadOS 17.2, and Safari 17.2. WebXPRT 4 tests running on those platforms should now complete without any problems.

We do appreciate everyone’s patience as we worked to find a solution to this problem, and we look forward to seeing your WebXPRT 4 scores from all the latest Apple devices! If you have any questions or concerns about WebXPRT 4, or you encounter any additional issues when running the test on any platform, please let us know.

Justin

Posted in Apple, benchmark, Benchmarking, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, iOS, iPadOS, iPhone, Performance benchmarking, Safari, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

Good news for WebXPRT 4 testing!

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on November 2, 2023

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been working to find a solution to a problem with WebXPRT 4 test failures on Apple devices running iOS 17/17.1, iPadOS 17/17.1, and macOS Sonoma with Safari 17/17.1. While we put significant effort into an updated WebXPRT version that would mitigate this issue, we are happy to report that it now looks like we’ll be able to stick with the current version!

Last Thursday, Apple released the iOS 17.2 beta for participants in the Apple Developer Program. When we tested the current version of WebXPRT 4 on iOS 17.2, the tests completed without any issues. We then successfully completed tests on iPadOS 17.2 and macOS Sonoma 14.2 with Safari 17.2. Now that we have good reasons to believe that the iOS 17.2 release will solve the problem, sticking with the current WebXPRT 4 build will maximize continuity and minimize disruption for WebXPRT users.

Apple has not yet published a public release date for iOS/iPad OS/Safari 17.2. Based on past development schedules, it seems likely that they will release it between mid-November and early December, but that’s simply our best guess. Until then, users who want to test WebXPRT 4 on devices running iOS 17/17.1, iPadOS 17/17.1, or macOS Sonoma with Safari 17/17.1 will need to update those devices to iOS/iPad OS/Safari 17.2 via the Apple Developer Program.

To help Apple users better navigate testing until the public 17.2 release, we’ve added a function to the current WebXPRT 4 start page that will notify users if they need to update their operating system to test.

We appreciate everyone’s patience as we worked to find a solution to this problem! If you have any questions or concerns about WebXPRT 4, please let us know.

Justin

Posted in Apple, benchmark, Benchmarking, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, iOS, iPadOS, Performance benchmarking, Safari, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

An update on the issue with WebXPRT 4 in iOS 17

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on September 28, 2023

Recently, we informed XPRT blog readers that after updating Apple iPhones and iPads to iOS and iPadOS 17, respectively, we began to see WebXPRT 4 failures on those devices. In the Safari and Google Chrome browsers, WebXPRT 4 test runs were freezing while running the Encrypt Notes and OCR Scan workload. We were able to replicate the issue on every iOS/iPadOS 17 device we tested, and we also confirmed that WebXPRT 4 continues to run without issues on other non-iOS platforms.

Our team has been investigating the situation, and we’ve made some progress. It’s clear that the failed test runs are getting stuck when the WASM-based Tesseract.js Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine attempts to scan a shopping receipt. During our research, we’ve discovered an issue when the current Tesseract.js engine runs on iOS 17. This issue is broader than WebXPRT 4, and the Tesseract team is aware of the problem. Future versions of iOS 17 or later versions of Tesseract.js may include fixes for the problem, but unfortunately, we don’t know whether or when a fix will be available.

We’re currently investigating possible workarounds for the problem, and hope to be able to start testing soon. Our goal is that any solution we implement will not significantly affect existing WebXPRT 4 scores on non-iOS 17 platforms.

We will continue to share any substantive progress updates with readers here in the blog. Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience this issue causes for WebXPRT 4 users, and we appreciate your patience while we work toward a solution. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us!

Justin

Posted in Apple, benchmark, BenchmarkXPRT, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, Google Chrome, iOS, Performance benchmarking, Phones, Safari, Tablets, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Investigating a possible issue with WebXPRT 4 in iOS 17

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on September 14, 2023

Yesterday, Apple revealed the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro at its annual fall event, along with a new version of the iOS mobile operating system (iOS 17). The official iOS 17 launch will take place on September 18th, but before then, users of newer iPhones can install the OS via the Apple Beta Software Program.

Today, a tech journalist informed us that during their testing of iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro with iOS 17 Beta models, WebXPRT 4 has been freezing while running the Encrypt Notes and OCR Scan workload in the Safari 17 browser. Here in the lab, we were able to immediately replicate the issue on an iPhone 12 Pro with iOS 17 Beta model.

Our initial troubleshooting confirmed that WebXPRT 3 successfully runs to completion on iOS 17 Beta, so it appears that the problem is specific to WebXPRT 4. We also confirmed that WebXPRT 4 freezes at the same place when running in the Google Chrome browser on iOS 17 Beta, so we know that the problem does not occur only in Safari.

We’re currently investigating the issue, and will publish our findings here in the blog as soon as we feel confident that we’ve identified both the root cause and a workable solution, if a solution is necessary. One reason a solution would not be necessary is that the issue is a bug on the iOS 17 Beta side that Apple will resolve before the official launch.

We apologize for any inconvenience this issue might cause for tech reviewers and iPhone users, and we appreciate your patience while we figure out what’s going on. If you have any questions about WebXPRT 4, please don’t hesitate to ask!

Justin

Posted in Apple, benchmark, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, Google Chrome, iOS, iPhone, Performance benchmarking, Phones, Safari, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 3, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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