Video Breakthroughs

One question I often receive is regarding HTML5 video on Android. It often causes confusion, since the term “HTML5 video” doesn’t define the supported feature set, especially when it comes to advanced streaming features, such as streaming protocols, closed captioning or content protection.

The short summary is that Android does not match the iOS HTML5 streaming capabilities, which leads to unpleasant surprises when opening an iOS optimized video streaming site in the Android browser.

But why is this the case when Android is leading with an 80% market share? To better understand the challenges today, let’s look at the history of browser based video on Android.