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WebXPRT 5: The workload lineup

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on December 8, 2025

The WebXPRT 5 development process heading into the final stretch, so we’d like to share more information about the workloads you’re likely to see in the WebXPRT 5 Preview release—and when that release may be available. We’re still actively testing candidate builds, studying results from multiple system tests, and so on, so some details could change. That said, we’re now close enough to provide a clearer picture of the workload lineup.

Core workloads

WebXPRT 5 will likely include the following seven workloads:  

  • Video Background Blur with AI. Blurs the background of a video call using an AI-powered Segmentation model.
  • Photo Effects. Applies a filter to six photos using the Canvas API.
  • Detect Faces with AI. Detects faces and organizes photos in an album using computer vision (OpenCV.js with Caffe Model).
  • Image Classification with AI. Labels images in an album using machine learning (OpenCV.js and ML Classify with the SqueezeNet model).
  • Document Scan with AI. Scans a document image and converts it to text using ML-based OCR (Wasm with LSTM).
  • School Science Project. Processes a DNA sequencing task using Regex and String manipulation.
  • Homework Spellcheck. Spellchecks a document using Typo.js and Web Workers.

The sub-scores for each of these tests will contribute to WebXPRT 5’s main overall score. (We’ll discuss scoring in future blogs.)

Experimental workloads

We’re currently planning to include an experimental workload section, something we’ve long discussed, in WebXPRT 5. Workloads in this section will use cutting-edge browser technologies that may not be compatible with the same broad range of platforms and devices as the technologies in WebXPRT 5’s core workloads. For that reason, we will not include the scores from the experimental section—in the Preview build and future releases—in WebXPRT 5’s main overall score.

In addition, WebXPRT 5’s experimental workloads will be completely optional.

Moving forward, WebXPRT’s experimental workload section will provide users with a straightforward way to learn how well certain browsers or systems handle new browser-based technologies (e.g., new web apps or AI capabilities). We’ll benefit from the ability to offer workloads for large-scale testing and user feedback before committing to including them as core WebXPRT workloads. Because future experimental workloads will run independently of the main test, we can add them without affecting the main WebXPRT score or requiring users to repeat testing to obtain comparable scores. We think it will be a win-win scenario in many respects.  

We’re still evaluating whether we can finish the first experimental workload in time to include it in the WebXPRT 5 Preview release, but we will definitely have at least the section and the framework for adding such a workload. When we are confident that an experimental workload is ready to go, we’ll share more information here in the blog and be all set up to incorporate it.

Timeline

If all goes well, we hope to publish the WebXPRT 5 Preview very soon, followed by a general release in early 2026. If that timeline changes significantly, we’ll provide an update here in the blog as soon as possible.

What about an “AI score”?

We’re still discussing the concept of a stand-alone WebXPRT 5 “AI score,” and we go back and forth on it. That score would combine WebXPRT’s AI-related subscores into a single score for use in AI capability comparisons. Because we’re just now beefing up WebXPRT’s AI capabilities, we’ve definitely decided not to include an AI score right now. We would love your feedback on the concept as we plan WebXPRT’s future. If that’s something that you would be interested in, please let us know!

If you have any questions about the WebXPRT 5 details we’ve shared above, please feel free to ask!

Justin

Posted in AI, benchmark, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Caffe, Collaborative benchmark development, Cross-platform benchmarks, Future of performance evaluation, image classification, image processing, JavaScript, LAMP, on-device AI, Performance benchmarking, Performance of computing devices, SqueezeNet, Wasm, Web AI, web API, Web-based testing, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4, WebXPRT 5 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

You asked, and we heard you: WebXPRT 5 is on the way!

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on October 9, 2025

We’re excited to announce that WebXPRT 5 is officially on the way! Since we launched WebXPRT 4 in February 2022, it’s proven to be an exceptionally successful and reliable go-to benchmark for OEM labs, the tech press, and individual users alike—to the tune of over 644,000 runs to date. In past blog posts, we’ve discussed new features and possible auxiliary workloads that we contemplated adding to WebXPRT 4. As we’ve considered user comments and suggestions, changes in web technology, and how we can best position WebXPRT as a relevant browser benchmark in the future, however, it became clear that it was time for an all-new WebXPRT.

Now that we’ve announced WebXPRT 5, the first question for many existing WebXPRT users may be, “When will WebXPRT 5 be available?” We’re not yet ready to share an anticipated WebXPRT 5 release date, but we can share that a lot of groundwork is already complete, and the remaining work is moving along rapidly. We’ll continue to issue updates here in the blog as we reach important milestones.

The second question for many existing WebXPRT users may be, “How will WebXPRT change?” We’re not yet ready to share extensive details about WebXPRT 5’s workloads—rest assured that we will as soon as we can firm up everything—but we can share a few key guidelines we tried to follow in our WebXPRT 5 design. Each of these points of emphasis is a result of feedback we’ve received from labs, as well as features that users have asked for.

  • Provide more AI-related workloads. In past blog posts, we’ve discussed the growing importance of local, browser-side AI. WebXPRT 4 already includes timed AI tasks in two of its workloads: the Organize Album using AI workload and the Encrypt Notes and OCR Scan workload. We’re working on ways to expand WebXPRT’s AI portfolio in the next version.
  • Add WebGPU workloads. As a web API, WebGPU enables web-based applications—such as image-based GenAI and inference workloads—to directly access the graphics rendering and computational capabilities of a system’s GPU. We hope to incorporate WebGPU measures in WebXPRT 5.
  • Improve WebXPRT’s utility as a tool for test labs, publications, and engineering analysis.
    • Update the workloads with longer operations. Many of WebXPRT’s existing workloads no longer challenge cutting-edge consumer hardware as much as many of us would like. Testing labs have asked for longer and more demanding workloads. We’re working on incorporating workloads that are accessible enough to be run by a broad range of devices yet challenging enough to allow performance differentiation among high-end systems.
    • Enable more precise performance measures. Labs and testers have also asked for more granular insight into the workloads to help with engineering-level performance analysis. Currently, some WebXPRT 4 workload scores include multiple timed tasks. If we separate those compound scores so that each workload reports results from only one timed task, users will be able to more precisely assess how well a device performs while handling specific operations. We’re looking into this approach.
  • Modernize the harness to make it more flexible and to speed future work. WebXPRT 4’s current harness works with server-side sessions on a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP) stack. If we implement the harness via JavaScript on the client side, it will pave the way for faster development and testing cycles in the future.

We expect WebXPRT 5 to carry on the WebXPRT legacy of reliability and real-world relevance, while providing users with compelling new workloads and features. As has been our habit with new benchmark releases, however, we won’t force anyone to change versions anytime soon. Instead, we will continue to make WebXPRT 4 available for quite some time after WebXPRT 5 goes live.

If you have any questions or comments about WebXPRT, please let us know!

Justin

Posted in AI, Application-based benchmarks, benchmark, Benchmark metrics, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Cross-platform benchmarks, Future of performance evaluation, GPU, image classification, image processing, inference, LAMP, on-device AI, Performance benchmarking, Web AI, web API, Web-based testing, WebGPU, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 3, WebXPRT 4 |

Recent XPRT mentions in articles, reviews, and more!

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on April 10, 2025

Here at the XPRTs, our primary goal is to provide free, easy-to-use benchmark tools that can help everyone—from OEM labs to tech press journalists to individual consumers—understand how well devices will perform while completing everyday computing tasks. We track progress toward that goal in several ways, but one of the most important is how much people use and discuss the XPRTs. When the name of one of our apps appears in an ad, article, or tech review, we call it a “mention.” Tracking mentions helps us gauge our reach.

We occasionally like to share a sample of recent XPRT mentions here in the blog. If you just started following the XPRTs, it may be surprising to see our program’s global reach. If you’re a longtime reader and you’re used to seeing WebXPRT or CrXPRT in major tech press articles, it may be surprising to learn more about overseas tech press publications or see how some government agencies use the XPRTs to make decisions. In any case, we hope you’ll enjoy exploring the links below!

Recent mentions include:

If you’d like to receive monthly updates on XPRT-related news and activity, we encourage you to sign up for the BenchmarkXPRT Development Community newsletter. It’s completely free, and all you need to do to join the newsletter mailing list is let us know! We won’t publish, share, or sell any of the contact information you provide, and we’ll only send you the monthly newsletter and occasional benchmark-related announcements, such as important news about patches or releases.

If you have any questions about the XPRTs, suggestions, or requests for future blog topics, please feel free to contact us.

Justin

Posted in AI, benchmark, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Chromebooks, CrXPRT, Dell, iPhone, Laptops, Simplified Chinese, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Archiving AIXPRT and CloudXPRT

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on March 13, 2025

Some of our readers have been following the XPRTs since the early days, and they may remember using legacy versions of benchmarks such as HDXPRT 2014 or WebXPRT 2013. For many years, whenever we released a new version of a benchmark, we would maintain a link to the previous version on the benchmark’s main page. However, as interest in the older versions understandably waned and we stopped formally supporting them, many of those legacy XPRTs stopped working on the latest versions of the operating systems or browsers that we designed them to test. While we wanted to continue to provide a way for users to access those legacy XPRTs, we also wanted to avoid potential confusion for new users who might see links to old versions on our site. We decided that the best solution was to archive older tests in a separate section of the site—the XPRT archive.

Recently, as we discussed XPRT plans for 2025, it became clear that we needed to add AIXPRT and CloudXPRT to the archive. Both benchmarks represent landmark efforts toward our ongoing goal of providing cutting-edge performance assessment tools, but even though a few tech press publications and OEM labs experimented with them, neither benchmark gained enough widespread adoption to justify their continued support. As a result, we decided to focus our resources elsewhere and halt development on both benchmarks. Since then, ongoing updates to their respective software components and target platforms have rendered them largely unusable. By archiving both benchmarks, we hope to avoid any future confusion for visitors who may otherwise try to use them.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be moving the AIXPRT and CloudXPRT installation packages to the XPRT archive page. We’re grateful to everyone who has used AIXPRT and CloudXPRT in the past, and we apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause.

If you have any questions or concerns about access to either of these benchmarks—or about anything else related to the XPRTs, please let us know! 

Justin

Posted in AI, AIXPRT, Battery life, benchmark, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, Cloud, CloudXPRT, Cross-platform benchmarks, HDXPRT, HDXPRT 2014, History of benchmarking, Performance benchmarking, WebXPRT, What makes a good benchmark? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , |

Check out the new XPRTs around the world infographic!

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on January 30, 2025

As we look forward to continued growth for the XPRTs in 2025, it’s also a fitting time to take stock of just how much their reach has already grown around the globe. In the marketing world, reach is often defined as the size of the audience that sees and/or engages with your content. We track XPRT reach with several metrics—including completed test runs, benchmark downloads, and mentions of the XPRTs in advertisements, articles, and tech reviews. Gathering this information gives us insight into how many people are using the XPRTs, and it provides a sense of the impact the XPRTs are having around the world. It also helps us understand the needs of those who use them.

From time to time, we publish an updated version of an “XPRTs around the world” infographic, which features highlights from the reach metrics we track. This week, we published a new version of the infographic that includes the following highlights:

  • Over 4,100 unique sites have collectively mentioned the XPRTs more than 20,500 times.
  • Those mentions include more than 12,900 tech articles and reviews.
  • XPRT tech press mentions and test runs have originated in over 983 cities located in 84 countries on six continents. New cities of note include San Salvador, El Salvador; Salamanca, Mexico; Fes, Morocco; Wanaka, New Zealand; and Luzern, Switzerland.

In addition to the reach metrics we mention above, the XPRTs have now delivered more than 2,020,000 real-world results! We’re grateful for everyone who’s used the XPRTs and has spread the word to others. Your active involvement makes it possible for us to achieve our overall goals: to provide benchmark tools that are reliable, relevant, free, and simple to use.

Justin

Posted in BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, tech press, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4 | Tagged , , , , , , , , |

Using WebXPRT 4’s language options

Justin Greene
By Justin Greene
on November 26, 2024

Sohu, a major Chinese site, recently published a tech review discussing their first impressions from Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and Intel Core Ultra 9 285K white box testing. In the article, they included screenshots of the WebXPRT 4 test results they produced during their evaluation. The screenshots showed that the testers had enabled WebXPRT 4’s Simplified Chinese UI. They’re not the first to use this option, and it’s one we are glad worked for them.

Though WebXPRT’s language settings menu has proven to be a popular feature for many users around the world, some folks may not even know the option is there. In today’s blog, we’ll go over the basics of this simple but helpful testing option.

On WebXPRT’s Start screen, you can choose from three language options in the WebXPRT 4 UI: Simplified Chinese, German, and English. We included Simplified Chinese and German because of the large number of tests we see from China and Central Europe. We wanted to make testing a little easier for users who prefer those languages and we’re glad to see people using the options.

Changing languages in the WebXPRT UI is quick and easy. Locate the “Change Language?” prompt under the WebXPRT 4 logo at the top of the Start screen, and click or tap the arrow beside it. After the drop-down menu appears, select the language you want. The language of the start screen will then change to the language you selected, and the in-test workload headers and end-of-test results screen will also appear in the language you selected.

Figures 1–3 below my sig show the “Change Language?” drop-down menu and how the Start screen appears when you select Simplified Chinese or German. It’s important to note that if you have a translation extension installed in your browser, it may override the WebXPRT UI by reverting the language back to your browser’s default. You can avoid this conflict by temporarily disabling the browser’s translation extension for the duration of WebXPRT testing.

We hope WebXPRT 4’s language options will help facilitate the testing process for many users around the world. If you’re a frequent WebXPRT user and would like to see us add support for another language, please contact us. And, of course, if you have any questions about WebXPRT 4 testing, please let us know!

Justin

Figure 1: A screenshot of the WebXPRT 4 Start screen showing the language options drop-down menu.
Figure 2: A screenshot of the WebXPRT 4 Start screen with a Simplified Chinese UI.
Figure 3: A screenshot of the WebXPRT 4 Start screen with a German UI.
Posted in benchmark, Benchmarking, BenchmarkXPRT, BenchmarkXPRT development community, browser performance, Browser-based benchmarks, Chinese, Cross-platform benchmarks, German, Performance benchmarking, Simplified Chinese, WebXPRT, WebXPRT 4, What makes a good benchmark? | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , |

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