We believe a web browser should always keep up with the web’s constant evolution. For this reason, some of the new tests will require a modern browser to run. In particular, Mozilla's pdf.js, GB Emulator and Mandreel require a complete implementation of WebGL's Typed Arrays, which only recently have been fully supported in some browsers.
Octane 2.0 added two tests (Splay Latency and Mandreel Latency) that use the more precise timer provided by window.performance. All modern browsers we could test provide the functionality and we account for naming variations.
Octane performs an initial check and skips code that is not supported by older browsers, while showing a clear warning under the progress bar. A geometric mean is calculated with all the successful tests results. (Why a geometric mean?)
Here is a compatibility matrix, updated on the 16th July 2012.
| Browser | Compatible? | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome 14+ | YES | |
| Firefox, v. 13+ | YES | |
| Internet Explorer 9 | NO | Missing Typed Arrays. To fix rendering issues, make sure IE is in "IE9 Compatibility View" and the Document Mode is "IE9 Stadards". (Press F12 to open the developer tools) |
| Internet Explorer 10+ | YES | |
| Opera 12+ | YES | |
| Safari 5.1.7+ | YES |
We also tested mobile browsers:
| Browser (device, OS) | Compatible? | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome mobile (Galaxy Nexus, 4.1+) | YES | |
| Chrome mobile (iPhone, iOS 7) | NO | Using older Webkit's JavaScriptCore because of iOS restrictions |
| Firefox mobile (Galaxy Nexus, 4.1+) | YES | |
| Opera mobile (Galaxy Nexus, 4.1+) | YES | |
| Safari (iPhone, iOS 7) | NO | Fails on zlib (investigating) |