Meanwhile, Android Chrome deliberately introduces a ~300 millisecond audio delay to make web games impossible and force game devs to use the Play Store so that Google gets its pound of flesh. The superpowered[1] database has many measurements showing how bad Android is.
Those of you with Android devices can try this ancient web audio demo to see that the issue remains unfixed all these years later, except on certain select premium devices (certain Samsungs, etc.).
You should hear sound the instant a rectangle is touched/clicked and you will with a desktop browser but not with most Androids.
Apple also employs dark patterns on iOS Safari to make web games impossible:
1. No full screen. ("But the user wouldn't know how to exit full-screen - unless they buy from the App Store! We also plan to make full screen PWAs impossible because of, like, Reasons and totally not because of our 30% App Store cut!")
2. Slow WebGL and no WebGL 2.0. ("But we need to run extra shader validation security checks every single frame even though we technically only need to do it once up front! But this extra Privacy and Security[TM] is totally unnecessary if you buy from the App Store!")
3. No device motion tilt control. ("Allowing the user to consent to tilt control would violate the user's Privacy and Security[TM] - unless they buy from the App Store!")
4. No JS debug console unless you register an Apple developer account, download 10+ gig Xcode on a Mac-only computer, and ask Apple for authorization to debug javascript on your own freakin iPhone you paid for with your own damn money.
I was forced to give up using "open" web technologies for games and instead go with native code game engines (Godot, Unreal, Unity, ...).
Those of you with Android devices can try this ancient web audio demo to see that the issue remains unfixed all these years later, except on certain select premium devices (certain Samsungs, etc.).
https://webaudiodemos.appspot.com/TouchPad/index.html
You should hear sound the instant a rectangle is touched/clicked and you will with a desktop browser but not with most Androids.
Apple also employs dark patterns on iOS Safari to make web games impossible:
1. No full screen. ("But the user wouldn't know how to exit full-screen - unless they buy from the App Store! We also plan to make full screen PWAs impossible because of, like, Reasons and totally not because of our 30% App Store cut!")
2. Slow WebGL and no WebGL 2.0. ("But we need to run extra shader validation security checks every single frame even though we technically only need to do it once up front! But this extra Privacy and Security[TM] is totally unnecessary if you buy from the App Store!")
3. No device motion tilt control. ("Allowing the user to consent to tilt control would violate the user's Privacy and Security[TM] - unless they buy from the App Store!")
4. No JS debug console unless you register an Apple developer account, download 10+ gig Xcode on a Mac-only computer, and ask Apple for authorization to debug javascript on your own freakin iPhone you paid for with your own damn money.
I was forced to give up using "open" web technologies for games and instead go with native code game engines (Godot, Unreal, Unity, ...).
[1] https://superpowered.com/latency