WebVR was an experimental Web API that was only capable of representing virtual reality and was superseded by WebXR.[12][13][14]
History
WebVR API was first conceived in spring 2014 by
Vladimir Vukićević from
Mozilla. The API's contributors include Brandon Jones(Google), Boris Smus and others from the Mozilla team.[15] On March 1, 2016, the Mozilla VR team and the
Google Chrome team announced the version 1.0 release of the WebVR API proposal. The resulting API refactoring brought many improvements to WebVR.[16]
The latest WebXR Device API
Working Draft was last published in February 2022.[4] The editors of the specification currently are from
Google and
Meta. Other members from
Mozilla,
Microsoft,
Samsung Electronics and
Apple, as well as various startups and invited experts have input in the future of the specification.[17] All of the discussions of the specifications are public on GitHub.[18]
In 2018, the WebXR Device API superseded WebVR, being designed for both augmented reality, virtual reality devices and the possible future realities and devices.[12][13][19] WebVR was implemented in Firefox and Chromium-based browsers before being deprecated and removed. On September 24, 2018, the Immersive Web Working Group became official.[20]
Design
The WebXR Device API exposes a few new interfaces (such as XRView,[19] XRPose[21]) that allow
web applications to present content in virtual reality and augmented reality, by using
WebGL with the necessary camera settings and device interactions (such as controllers or point of view).
Support
WebXR Device API[22] (Candidate Recommendation Draft) is currently supported in the stable versions of Edge and Chrome 79+, Chrome for Android 79+, Opera 66+, Opera Mobile 64+, Samsung Internet 12+, and Oculus Browser.[23][24] WebXR is supported in
Safari for visionOS on the
Apple Vision Pro mixed reality headset.[25]
Similar technologies
Although WebXR is unique as an API, there are native applications on most hardware allowing for networked experiences and access to web content. Several key tools, such as
Unity and
Blender, are also able to export for the web and provide users a way to use their content without installing a dedicated application.