3 ms·

This. Webview is a separate app on Android phones for quite a while now(and also I think chrome mobile is another/newer webview provider), which allows for much

This. Webview is a separate app on Android phones for quite a while now(and also I think chrome mobile is another/newer webview provider), which allows for much faster updates. As much as app developers hate not knowing what version of library is actually running in their apps, it is a net win for the user.

folli 6y ago
I didn't know about using chrome mobile as webview provider. What are the dis-/advantages of using it? Any experience?
- matharmin 6y ago
  Advantage is that most of the time, you have a fairly new browser engine available for your app, that is not tied to the OS version (especially important on Android). Also doesn't require embedding an 50MB engine (Crosswalk) in your app. Disadvantage is that as an app developer you're not guaranteed to have any specific version available. Some devices never upgrade the pre-installed version automatically. The user is also able to switch between the Chrome webview and an OS webview on some devices (in developer settings, so it's not common). You can add checks in your app and direct the user to the update links, but requires quite a bit of work to do well.
kalleboo 6y ago
I'm curious, does the Android WebView also sandbox the browser process separately from the app's data like WKWebView does on iOS? If it does and GeckoView doesn't, that would be quite a big downside.
- blinkingled 6y ago
  Android WebView does sandbox the browser and renderer processes since Oreo - https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/06/whats-new-in-webview-security.html?m=1 https://android-developers.googleblog.com/2017/06/whats-new-... There is no reason Mozilla could not do that with GeckoView.