Top web things at Google I/O '23

Google I/O 2021: Top Web Things You Need to Know

In this video, Una Kravets gives a quick roundup of the top web things you need to know from Google I/O 2021. She covers new platform capabilities introduced by Chrome, including WebAssembly and WebGPU, as well as improvements to authentication and tools for bringing the best of the web to Android apps. Additionally, she discusses updates in web UI features and improvements in security and privacy for users.

New Platform Capabilities

• Chrome introduces new platform capabilities that push the boundaries of what's possible in the browser.

• Powerful APIs like WebAssembly support managed memory languages like Dart and Kotlin.

• WebGPU turns device GPU into a powerful accelerator for graphics, machine learning models, and other compute-intensive apps.

Updates in Web UI Features

• New responsive UI capabilities improve developer experience by giving more control over CSS architecture.

• Extended color and theming capabilities, new typography features, customizable components with accessible defaults and browser-managed state.

• Exciting updates in animation and interactions APIs.

Improvements to Authentication

• Upgrade from passwords and two-factor authentication to pass keys which are simpler, more secure, work across devices and platforms.

Tools for Bringing Best of the Web to Android Apps

• Improvements made to webview - a common way of embedding web content in native apps.

• Improvements made to custom tabs including partial custom tabs that make multitasking between app and web much easier.

Security & Privacy Improvements

• Working with ecosystem on Privacy Sandbox Initiative

• Removing tracking vectors

• Improving security and privacy for users

Cross-Browser Support and Debugging

In this section, the speaker talks about cross-browser support and debugging. They introduce Baseline, a set of features that are fully supported by all major browsers, and WebDriver BiDi, which allows you to write tests with any automation tool in any browser. The speaker also mentions improvements to the debugging experience in Chrome DevTools.

Baseline Set of Features

• Baseline is an evergreen set of features fully supported by current and previous versions of all major browsers.

• The label for the Baseline set will start rolling out on MDN and Can I Use over the next few months.

WebDriver BiDi

• WebDriver BiDi combines Chrome DevTools protocol and WebDriver Classic to allow you to write tests with any automation tool in any browser.

Improvements to Debugging Experience

• Significant improvements have been made to the debugging experience in Chrome DevTools to make it easier to read optimized output when building with a framework.

Tooling Support for Developers

In this section, the speaker discusses how developers can get tooling support that meets them in their workflow and takes into account their tech stack choices.

• A challenge for developers is getting tooling support that meets them in their workflow and takes into account their tech stack choices.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing all updates mentioned throughout the video.

• The speaker hopes viewers are excited about everything landing in the web platform universe.