HTML 5, is going through the best of times

Since the fourth quarter of 2014, 60% of game industry practitioners have invested or prepared to invest in the development of HTML5 games and are optimistic about their prospects.

For HTML 5, which was born in 2008, it is going through the best of times.

As the World Wide Web Consortium announces standard-making, more and more internet companies are looking to HTML5, a standard that was touted by Apple's former CEO Steve Jobs.

Sohu CEO Charles Zhang in force push X5 as the core of mobile phone QQ browser, but also in the dark to deploy Sohu Fast station business. The latter is the use of HTML5 to generate mobile content, and reduce the development threshold for mobile applications. At the same time, roaming, UC, cheetahs and other browser manufacturers have also launched to support the HTML5 plan, Baidu also launched a direct number to join the war.

Game developers enter the field earlier. Research reports show that 60% of the game industry practitioners in the fourth quarter of 2014 have invested or prepared to invest in the development of HTML5 games and are optimistic about their prospects.

January 21, Innovation workshop again investment Tens yuan in the HTML5 field distribution platform to light the application, and HTML5 research and development engine Egret last year, won 10 million dollars from millet investment.

In fact, HTML5 's influence is more extensive, video website YouTube recently officially announced in its official blog, its video playback will use HTML5 by default, replace original Flash. Such changes will help developers, video owners and viewers to use their products more flexibly.

However, just two years ago, the users complained of opening the HTML5 Web site, while some of the developers who had invested in them had fled. Today, Facebook's tech executives are regretting the announcement.

The development environment is already ripe

In recent two years, the development of mobile devices, the computing power of its hardware products has not lost in the early PC. The hardware upgrade revolution began with the increasing number of CPU cores from chip makers, and the mobile end products experienced a surge in hardware metrics ranging from 32 to 64, as well as GPU performance, screen size, and standby time.

At present, high-end smartphone product hardware performance is enough to carry more web content, support more gorgeous rendering effect, and this trend will continue in the next 3-5 years, and extend to low-end products. With the smartphone sales channel sinking, there will be a large number of thousands of Android smartphone popularization, which will completely cover the HTML5 of the computing power required.

Moreover, the support of the network plays a vital role in the popularization of HTML5. With the continuous improvement of 4G users, the user's shortening of the time to open the Web page will encourage more users to experience and share the products based on HTML5, thus motivating the developers.

For network problems, one of the internet giants Baidu has tried to promote the development of HTML5 using the concept of "light application". However, due to previous network problems, as well as users in the mobile end of the search experience barriers.

There are insiders said, "Baidu mobile search is very important is that users can search for the content, if not found, users open only the version of the PC, which will seriously affect the experience." ”

Finally, light application becomes a content production platform of Baidu direct number. The latter was a new attempt by Baidu in 2014 for mobile search. At this time, China's 4G users have exceeded 30 million, and continued to grow in the next few months.

PK Native application will continue

When HTML5 can host more cool interactions, this means that it can bring users different from traditional browsing and can have more sensory experiences. But for application developers, they have the opportunity to stand out from many applications.

The current obstacle to the development of native apps: Android and Apple app stores have surpassed the Bai Wan apps, while users rarely download new apps on their own, meaning that apps that are long tail are hard to be perceived by users. User demand is not high frequency application more promotion needs to be pre-installed market or special marketing methods, which will increase the cost of developers.

Sohu Express product leader Ong Xiaochi said, not only small and medium teams will transfer Strategic center to HTML5, and China's close to 60 million of small and medium enterprises to contact the mobile Internet will also rely on HTML5.

But it is noteworthy that HTML5 is only a standard, it still has certain limitations. In the face of high-frequency, experience demand is very strong application development needs, the first choice is still the original app, because the latter is very deep interaction level, difficult to carry through the Web page.

Popular HTML5 Game "do not step on the white piece" of the production company has a trick founder Chenhong said, "Of course, the hardware is enough to support a simple HTML5 game, but the need for hardware performance can support a lot of operation of the game still need some time." Now many people come in and just try the water.

In addition, because the browser support standards are different, and the version of the Android phone is very serious, in the adoption of HTML5 development, adaptation work will occupy the developer a lot of time.

This means that the application based on HTML5 development will continue to segment the market with the native app for a certain period of time.

Reshape Browsers

"Survey results show that 30% of developers use HTML5 and native mixed APIs to develop native applications," said David Macqueen, a Third-party research institute Strategy Analytics Applications and media executive director.

This is a new trend for developers to take advantage of the mix of the two to achieve a balance point for each director, especially the game developer. However, there is also a deeper thinking. Mozilla product manager Thomas Arend says game developers can design a browser-based (i.e., HTML5) version of a program that allows prospective users to try without having to access the App Store for downloads. If the user accepts the product, they may decide to purchase the full version of the application.

But it is now visible in the country that it may extend to the application of novel reading, because the latter is the pursuit of rapid content updates, this part will be referred to HTML5. In fact, the reading of novels and the presentation of advertisements are the processing of content.

As for hosting content, browsers are inherently more advantageous. QQ Browser Assistant general manager Ye Jun has proposed the concept of "content container", that is, the browser is a HTML5 content container, through this container, content can be in the native app better drop rendering.

Yes, the traditional definition of the browser concept will be broken and replaced by a super app that embeds the browser kernel. As some developers have said, the HTML5 circle of friends has in some sense become a browser (if you just think of it as a Web page).

There are many benefits to doing this, and the most important thing is to reduce the developer's reliance on the application store. The HTML5 employment process can be spread across the wider social media and be better promoted. Ong Xiaochi said that browsers would be ubiquitous and that more and more standardization would appear. Platform-level products such as Super app are likely to become a carrier, and its rendering level will be more and more high.

More, the use of location information, GPU, camera and VCR applications, as well as richer voice controls, are being used in HTML5-developed products as mobile chip manufacturers update their technology.

Perhaps as David Macqueen predicted, what the lock can see today through the native API will be seen in HTML5 in the next few years. The HTML5 of mobile medical sensors and virtual reality integration will soon come.

At that time, your circle of friends will be no longer only games and ads, it will become your most important "browser".