WebRTC For a Browser on iOS (Tab and Phone)

[Venkateswar Reddy Melachervu]

Team WebRTC,

First off congratulations for the continued adoption and growth of webrtc. 

I hope I am not going to attract any discussion on the relevance of this question on this forum. Did not feel any other apt platform exist for such a question - given the genesis of webrtc and request your patience to bear with the question if you feel otherwise.

I believe webrtc will have immense positive impact on making web work for all in this era of computing power in palm - especially for real time, seamless multimedia integration into browser platform on all form factors. 

However, the biggest hurdle that any enterprenuer or investor faces today, in building the app eco-system on top of webrtc technology - is the nonchalance of couple of biggies in opening/supporting this technology on their established base OS/browser platforms - Apple's iOS and MS' Windows. It's worse with Apple - as I am given to the understanding that Apple prohibits bundling proprietary webrtc modules onto any browser on their OS - iOS or Mac except natively on OS. 

In this challenging context for the entrepreneurs, companies, start-ups that would like to venture in and invest on building apps that'd popularize and expand the reach of webrtc, what are the options webrtc team thinks exist right now - especially if one wants to build app that requires webrtc support in a browser on iOS and Mac for audio and video thr' JS. I've come across few things on this on web search, but none seemed like hopping onto for a production/commercial.

Appreciate any views or suggestions,

Wishing you a good luck in  reaching to all devices on the planet that run browser on 'em,

Regards,

Venkat

www.linkedin.com/in/vmelachervu

[Donny Viszneki]

Hi Venkateswar,

I cannot do much to advance this discussion, except to share some of my experiences.

I also would like to ask you to elaborate on this part of your message:

It's worse with Apple - as I am given to the understanding that Apple prohibits bundling proprietary webrtc modules onto any browser on their OS - iOS or Mac except natively on OS. 

The rest of my email is addressed more generally to anyone who cares to read:

Recently I have been engaged in research for a business venture with the company an old colleague of mine currently works for. I was very excited about the prospect of designing a WebRTC-based solution, and I was devastated to learn of the stranglehold that Apple and Microsoft continue to exercise over the Web and the Web developer community.

For much of 2011-2012, I was working with a team for a Canadian telecommunications company, subcontracting for a new US company. We did a lot of research, design, and implementation, of a large scale system for sharing an interesting variety of data. We implemented front-ends which resembled typical database applications, news feeds, state diagrams, spatial maps, and combinations thereof.

During that experience, I learned first hand just how serious Apple is about protecting its iOS-based revenue model. Apple had at that time implemented several features/bugs in their technology which forced us to choose between the user experience we wanted, and using the Web to create it. I felt quite sure at that time that the reason for this was to ensure that the Web on iOS appears superficially functional, but in fact is deliberately handicapped in specific ways to prevent anything "too rich" from getting to the user without going through the App Store.

It's a shame that the W3's, and the broader community's, influence over the Web has been historically, and remains still, so weak. The Web as a common platform for publishing and software will never be allowed to threaten the revenue streams of OS and hardware vendors. The only way vendors can ensure this is by forcing developers to invest in writing software for their own platforms, not for the Web.

I hope with respect to WebRTC, the situation can change sooner, rather than later. However I suspect we will only see these capabilities available to all visitors to the Web once the incumbent technology regime decides who will dominate the market for things that can be built on WebRTC. In the meantime, we will be allowed to innovate with WebRTC, while obeying the "keep off the grass" sign. When all the "killer apps" are worked out, and WebRTC expends itself of startups and ideas, the incumbent technology powers will own the fruits of our innovation, and then will finally allow WebRTC inside their walled gardens.

I hope I am wrong, but this does seem to be the way these things go. What can we do to overcome these barriers?

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[Venkateswar Reddy Melachervu]

Don,

Read below linked email from Serge which is the basis for my statement you'd to elaborate on:

Apple literally bans 3rd party webrtc native browser support.

So when do you feel/guess these guys let webRTC enter into their walled gardens - couple of quarters from now or couple of years from now. I strongly feel they can't afford not to be part of this historical milestone in the technology annals.

Venkat