What is the engine of Android native browser? Wiki says that Android used WebKit before 4.4 and Blink for 4.4 and further versions. Is it right statement? Thanks in advance.
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1Google describes it as being WebKit before 4.4 and Chromium from 4.4 onwards. However, Chromium is a browser, not a Web rendering engine. Exactly where Blink ends and Chromium begins is a bit of a mystery to me. – CommonsWare Nov 30 '15 at 12:06
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The default browser on Android is Google Chrome. This uses the Blink layout engine. For AOSP installations without the Google Apps, the default browser is the old "Browser" app that uses Webkit.
other third party browsers like Firefox uses Gecko, Opera uses Blink, Dolphin uses Webkit, and there are probably others. Additionally, also Samsung and HTC install different (non-Chrome) browsers on their phones. I do not know what they are, or what engine they use.
similar question answered you can see here
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I had a similar question. Below is what I found.
1. Wikipedia article
Web browser
The web browser available in Android is based on the open-source Blink (previously WebKit) layout engine, coupled with Chromium's V8 JavaScript engine. Then the WebKit-using Android Browser scored 100/100 on the Acid3 test on Android 4.0 ICS; the Blink-based browser currently has better standards support. The old web browser is variably known as 'Android Browser', 'AOSP browser', 'stock browser', 'native browser', and 'default browser' (from the time it was always the default). Starting with Android 4.4 KitKat, Google has begun licensing Google Chrome (a proprietary software) separately from Android, but usually bundled with (what most device vendors did). Since Android 5.0 Lollipop, the WebView browser that apps can use to display web content without leaving the app has been separated from the rest of the Android firmware in order to facilitate separate security updates by Google.
2. HTML5test's slides
ANDROID 4 DEVICES ALSO COMMONLY SHIP WITH GOOGLE CHROME
DEPENDING ON YOUR DEVICE GOOGLE CHROME COULD BE
- AN EXTRA BROWSER
- THE DEFAULT BROWSER
- THE ONLY BROWSER
- OR NOT THERE AT ALL
ANDROID 4.4 SHIPS WITH A NEW WEBVIEW BASED ON CHROMIUM 30
BUT NOT THE SAME AS GOOGLE CHROME
THE CHROMIUM BASED WEBVIEW WILL BE UPDATED REGULARLY
- ANDROID 4.4.3 → CHROMIUM 33
- ANDROID 5 → CHROMIUM 37
IN FACT ON ANDROID 5
THE WEBVIEW CAN BE UPDATED INDEPENTENTLY OF THE OS
3. Release Notes on WebView
Android 4.4 KitKat
Android 4.4 includes a completely new implementation of WebView that's based on Chromium. The new Chromium WebView gives you the latest in standards support, performance, and compatibility to build and display your web-based content.
Chromium WebView provides broad support for HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. It supports most of the HTML5 features available in Chrome for Android 30. It also brings an updated version of the JavaScript Engine (V8) that delivers dramatically improved JavaScript performance.
In addition, the new Chromium WebView supports remote debugging using Chrome DevTools. For example, you can use Chrome DevTools on your development machine to inspect, debug, and analyze your WebView content live on a mobile device.
The new Chromium WebView is included on all compatible devices running Android 4.4 and higher. You can take advantage of the new WebView right away, and with minimum modifications to existing apps and content. In most cases, your content will migrate to the new implementation seamlessly.
Android 5.0 Lollipop
The initial release for Android 5.0 includes a version of Chromium for WebView based on the Chromium M37 release, adding support for WebRTC, WebAudio, and WebGL.
Chromium M37 also includes native support for all of the Web Components specifications: Custom Elements, Shadow DOM, HTML Imports, and Templates. This means you can use Polymer and its material design elements in a WebView without needing polyfills.
Although WebView has been based on Chromium since Android 4.4, the Chromium layer is now updatable from Google Play.
As new versions of Chromium become available, users can update from Google Play to ensure they get the latest enhancements and bug fixes for WebView, providing the latest web APIs and bug fixes for apps using WebView on Android 5.0 and higher.
Android 7.0 Nougat
Chrome + WebView, Together
Starting with Chrome version 51 on Android 7.0 and above, the Chrome APK on your device is used to provide and render Android System WebViews. This approach improves memory usage on the device itself and also reduces the bandwidth required to keep WebView up to date (as the standalone WebView APK will no longer be updated as long as Chrome remains enabled).
You can choose your WebView provider by enabling Developer Options and selecting WebView implementation. You can use any compatible Chrome version (Dev, Beta or Stable) that is installed on your device or the standalone Webview APK to act as the WebView implementation.
Multiprocess
Starting with Chrome version 51 in Android 7.0, WebView will run web content in a separate sandboxed process when the developer option "Multiprocess WebView" is enabled.
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