Google has been revolutionizing the technology space since it was founded in 1998. Its latest acquisition, the 2D graphics engine Skia, has been helping them develop better products and services for over 15 years.
The Skia engine is an open-source software that’s available for anyone to use and contribute to. This means developers can create their own tools and applications based on the codebase. It also provides a great platform for developers to share helpful tips and advice from other users of the engine.
In 2005, Google acquired Skia from a small startup and has since used it as one of its key components in the development of its web browser, Chrome. The open-source engine drives much of Chrome’s graphical processing unit (GPU) hardware optimization and leads to greater performance gains than traditional 3D rendering techniques.
It also helps ensure content compatibility across different platforms, making sure that all Chrome browser users can experience the same visuals when loading a website regardless of the hardware they’re using.
Skia is an incredible piece of open-source software that’s not only used by Google, but by many other companies in the industry. With its ability to provide great performance gains and stunning visuals for web browsers, it’s easy to understand why Google decided to acquire it back in 2005 – and why it remains an important part of the tech giant’s service offerings today.
Google is no stranger to acquisitions. The tech giant made a significant purchase back in 2005 – the 2D graphics engine called Skia. This engine is now widely known as the driving force behind many of Google’s products, including Chrome.
Back in 2005 the engine was a relative unknown for most people outside the engineering world, but its aggressive performance and cross-platform capabilities earned it a spot in Google’s arsenal. Today, what was once an obscure purchase has become an integral part of Google Chrome. The Skia Graphics Engine turned out to be a fantastic investment for Google as it is now used extensively throughout the browser for rendering graphics, such as images, videos and web pages.
“Skia has become an integral part of Chrome, from macOS to mobile platforms such as Android. It puts strict requirements on memory usage, battery life and power consumption while providing a smooth and responsive user experience” said an official statement from Google.
In addition to its use in Chrome, the Skia engine is also used in other products like WebView and Android apps. Remarkably though, it hasn’t just been used by Google. Due to its open-source nature, the software has also been adopted by other companies like Mozilla and Microsoft in their browsers too.
Google’s acquisition of Skia was a stroke of brilliance that allowed them to gain a competitive edge over their rivals at little cost. Today, the Skia Graphics Engine helps to ensure that Chrome remains one of the leading web browsers on the market – if not the best!