Is RoboHornet The Holy Grail Of Browser Benchmarks?
RoboHornet Alpha1: Initial Results
Now we've truly seen it all. Today, Google helped launch a modular, independent, and open source browser benchmark made up of tests created and voted on by Web developers and designers, with consultation from standards bodies and vendors alike.
Chrome is still the top choice under Linux and Windows 7, and Safari is still king in Mountain Lion. Opera is somewhere in the middle of the pack on Windows and Ubuntu, but lands at the bottom of the heap under OS X. In a surprise upset, Firefox falls flat on its face on every platform except OS X, where it manages to place ahead of Opera. But the real shocker happens on Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8, where the RTM build of Internet Explorer 10 comes out swinging, earning far and away the best score in this new test.
With the exception of the Android tests, we used our usual Web Browser Grand Prix test system. Due to the limited window between gaining access to RoboHornet and publishing, that's the only combination of hardware we could benchmark in time. It should be live and publicly accessible by now, so try it out on your own rig and let us know the results in the comments section. We should note that we also attempted to run RoboHornet on the new iPad, but Safari (and more than likely any other iOS browser) would not get past the first test.
How does RoboHornet affect the Web Browser Grand Prix?
For now, it doesn't. We were told that it would be inappropriate to include RoboHornet in our regular browser benchmarks in its current state. However, we'll most definitely be keeping a close eye on this benchmark for inclusion into the Web Browser Grand Prix. Perhaps one day it can even replace the majority of our performance-oriented metrics. Needless to say, we're very stoked about the future of RoboHornet."
Until then, the next couple articles in the Web Browser Grand Prix are, for the time being, outside of RoboHornet's core competency: Android and iOS. Stay tuned.