With the release of Safari 4, Apple’s latest desktop web browser based on the Webkit rendering engine, there’s been a lot of talk about some new technology that boosts Javascript rendering times four-fold over the previous version of Safari. NitroBoost, as Apple calls it, is a new Javascript renderer built into the new Safari 4 browser. iPhone Atlas poses the question – does Safari 4’s NitroBoost indicate that we’ll soon be seeing a boost in iPhone Javascript performance?
We can only hope.
The iPhone Safari browser, sometimes referred to as Safari Mobile, is built on the same Webkit core as the desktop version of Safari. Previous innovations in Webkit development has slowly made their way to the iPhone’s Safari browser. The iPhone Safari browser has already been blessed with Javascript improvements that have decreased page-rendering times, but tends to lag behind the fast-paced development of Webkit in general – advances in Webkit take more time to trickle down to the iPhone.
Only time will tell if Apple will include NitroBoost technology in the next revision of iPhone Safari, but it’s safe to assume that the iPhone Safari browser will eventually adopt the enhanced Javascript rendering technology. Here’s to hoping…