Google to Enable WebGPU API in Chrome 113

Google has announced that the WebGPU API, an interface that provides web applications with greater access to graphics card capabilities, will be enabled by default in Chrome 113, set to release in approximately three weeks. The API will be available on Windows PCs supporting Direct3D 12, macOS, and ChromeOS devices supporting Vulkan.

According to a blog post, WebGPU enables developers to achieve the same level of graphics with significantly less code, resulting in "more than three times improvements in machine learning model inferences." This capability is increasingly beneficial as generative AIs and large language models become more prevalent.

While machine learning services like Google's Bard and Microsoft's Bing do not exploit the user's local hardware, the use of WebGPU presents a vast opportunity for applications that do take advantage of this feature. In addition, it will allow developers to create better-looking games for web browsers.

Google claims that this month's release is only the beginning of future updates and improvements, which will offer more advanced graphics features and deeper access to shader cores. The company also aims to enhance how developers create content that runs on WebGPU.

WebGPU has been in the works since 2017, and its development has been ongoing since then. It is not exclusive to Chrome and will soon be available on Firefox and Safari as well. Google is working on expanding its implementation to support more operating systems, such as Linux and Android.