What EV·ENGINE needs from a browser
EV·ENGINE needs four things from a browser: a secure context, the Geolocation API, Web Audio and AudioWorklet. Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox and the Tesla browser all provide every one of them. Miss any of the four and the simulator either sounds thin or refuses to start.
- A secure context. HTTPS, or localhost while developing. Browsers refuse Geolocation over plain HTTP, and opening the files straight off disk gives no GPS at all.
- Geolocation. The speed source. Permission is asked once per site and can be withdrawn in site settings.
- Web Audio. Every sound the app makes goes through it.
- AudioWorklet. Where the synthesised engines run, on the audio thread. Without it the app falls back to a simpler additive stack that sounds thinner and flatter.
What each browser gives you
| Browser | Verdict | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge, Chromium | Full support | Lowest audio latency of the lot, on desktop and Android. |
| Tesla browser | Full support | Chromium-based. The browser this app was designed against. |
| Safari, iOS and macOS | Full support | Check the physical silent switch on an iPhone before assuming a fault. |
| Firefox | Full support | Audio latency runs higher than Chromium, which you may notice on lift-off. |
Test the browser you are using
Signal Watcher probes the browser you are reading this in and reports what it found: GPS update rate and accuracy, audio latency, GPU, network, storage and over 200 API checks. It takes about 30 seconds, needs no account, and is worth running in the car rather than on your laptop, because a car browser is where the surprises are.
Known trouble
- Silence on an iPhone. The switch on the side of the phone mutes web audio, and nothing on the page can override it.
- Audio stops when you switch away. Browsers suspend audio for a hidden tab. The page tells you when it has happened and for how long.
- Revs stuck at idle. Either location was refused, or no fix has arrived. Indoors and in a multi-storey, GPS can take a long time or never arrive.
- The engine sounds thin. The AudioWorklet did not load and the fallback is running. Signal Watcher reports whether the browser supports it.
Aggregate figures for what real browsers report, including how often the AudioWorklet fallback fires, are on the live stats page.