Apple, Google, Microsoft, Firefox jointly released faster Speedometer 3.0 browser benchmark

Speedometer 3.0 is a better way of measuring performance and a more representative set of tests that reflect modern Web

Alexander Lewis - Mar 12, 2024

An undated image displaying reading of browser performance. — Unsplash

In a collaborated endeavour, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Firefox have released a new, faster and fairer Speedometer 3.0 browser benchmark.

Speedometer 3.0, an online tool used to measure and improve the performance of browsers, was a result of collective effort between the Blink/V8, Gecko/SpiderMonkey, and WebKit/JavaScriptCore browser engines, in which tech giant Microsoft was also involved.

While it was originally created by Apple in 2014, WebKit team was the sole developer behind Speedometer version 1.0 released in 2014, whereas Apple and Google teamed up for Speedometer 2.0 in 2018.

Speedometer 3.0 claims is said to be “a better way of measuring performance and a more representative set of tests that reflect the modern Web.” React, Vue, Angular, Preact, Lit, Backbone, and Svelte are the frameworks included on the new Speedometer 3.0.

While being “a new governance model” that supports the Blink/V8 (Google; Microsoft Edge also uses it) and Gecko/SpiderMonkey (Mozilla), the enhanced version of the Speedometer 3.0 entails various tests to ensure “a more broad and representative cross section of the engine, providing new opportunities to optimize JS, Layout, CSS, Graphics, and DOM APIs in order to improve user experience on the Web.”

Additionally, Speedometer 3.0 has new tests, including rendering canvas and SVG charts, code editing, WYSIWYG editing, and reading news sites. Also, the test runner has been improved to better gauge response to user actions. The Speedometer 3.0 site has more details on its tests.

The image attached below shows results of the new Speedometer 3.0 on the new M3 MacBook Air. The test was conducted on Safari 17.4 (19618.1.15.11.12), Google Chrome 122.0.6261.112, Microsoft Edge 122.0.2365.80, and Mozilla Firefox 123.0.1.

Although Apple's Safari trolls all the contenders on the list, Chrome and Firefox appear to be tailing behind as the reading shows competent speeds as that of Safari if the standard deviation (mentioned as +/- by Speedometer) is discounted. Lowest score was recorded of the Edge browser by Microsoft.