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List of Android WebViews

Last week Niels Leenheer of HTML5 Test told me he’d released a simple Android app that mimics a browser but runs in the device’s WebView. This is ideal for testing WebViews, a topic I’ve ignored so far.

I downloaded the app to all my Android 4/5 phones except for the Huawei C8813 (Chinese firmware) where Google Play won’t run, and the LG L5, where the app crashes when you try to load a page, and catalogued which browser the WebView is (or purports to be). Here are the results:

Niels told me how Google has been handling WebViews so far, and nothing I encountered contradicts his scheme:

1. Before Android 4.4 all devices run Android WebKit as their WebView. (Is this the same Android WebKit as their default browser? Don’t know yet.)
2. From Android 4.4 the WebView is Chromium 30.
3. From Android 4.4.3 the WebView is Chromium 33.
4. From Android 5 the WebView is Chromium 37. In addition, the promise is that the Android 5 WebView will be updated to newer versions app-wise, i.e. without a firmware update. I will keep an eye on that.

I assume device vendors could write their own WebView if they want. So far I haven’t found a trace yet of that happening, but let’s give them a chance to get used to porting and changing Chromium and revisit this question near the end of this year.

Next question: how to cram all these WebViews into my compatibility tables, which are overflowing as it is.