WebGL2 Compatibility on Apalis i.MX8 with Firefox

Technical Support
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Hi,
I am working on the Apalis i.MX8 board and have built a custom Linux OS using the tdx-reference-multimedia-image as the base. I included the Firefox browser by adding the meta-browser layer into my Yocto build. The browser launches successfully on the device.

However, my main goal is to access a web application built in Unity, exported with WebGL support. When I try to load the page, Firefox displays the following message:

“Your browser does not support graphics API ‘WebGL2’ which is required for this content.”

  1. Does the Firefox browser included via meta-browser support WebGL2 on Apalis i.MX8 hardware out of the box?
  2. Do I need to add specific GPU drivers or enable additional features in Yocto (like full OpenGL ES 3.0+ support) to get WebGL2 working?
  3. Would switching to Chromium instead of Firefox provide better support for WebGL2 on this platform?

Any guidance or pointers on enabling WebGL2 support for Unity WebGL content on this platform would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou

2

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Hello and thank you for your detailed question!

Here are answers to your points regarding WebGL2 support on Apalis i.MX8 with Yocto Linux:

  1. Firefox WebGL2 Support on Apalis i.MX8
    As per current documentation, Firefox’s WebGL2 support on Apalis i.MX8 is not officially documented or guaranteed to work out of the box. Many users report limited or no WebGL2 support with Firefox on this platform, especially in embedded deployments.

  2. GPU Drivers and Yocto Configuration for WebGL2
    To enable WebGL (and especially WebGL2) support in browsers, you must ensure the GPU drivers are correctly installed and enabled in your Yocto build. This involves:

    • Using the correct Vivante GPU drivers for Apalis i.MX8.
    • Ensuring OpenGL ES 3.0 or newer is available.
    • For browsers from meta-browser, the recipes may need additional feature flags or patches for optimal GPU support.
      However, even with drivers in place, browser-side enablement is crucial—and some versions/build options of Firefox on embedded systems simply don’t enable WebGL2, regardless of GPU support.

  3. Chromium for WebGL2 Support on Apalis i.MX8
    Chromium is generally better documented and tested for hardware graphics acceleration and WebGL2 support on Toradex’s i.MX8 modules. Toradex recommends Chromium, specifically the chromium-ozone-wayland version, for GUI/browser-based applications requiring GPU acceleration and advanced WebGL features.
    To add Chromium (with GPU acceleration), follow these steps in your Yocto environment:

    git clone -b master https://github.com/OSSystems/meta-browser.git

    In your conf/local.conf, add:

    CORE_IMAGE_EXTRA_INSTALL += "chromium-ozone-wayland"
LICENSE_FLAGS_ACCEPTED += "commercial_libav commercial_x264"

    For running Chromium with GPU acceleration:

    chromium --no-sandbox --in-process-gpu

    More information: How to use Web Browser – Linux

Summary:

  • Firefox from meta-browser may not fully support WebGL2 on Apalis i.MX8.
  • Correct GPU drivers and OpenGL ES 3.0+ support are required but may not be sufficient for browser-side WebGL2 enablement.
  • Chromium is the recommended browser for advanced graphics (like Unity WebGL content) on this platform.

If you want the best chance of Unity WebGL content working, switching to Chromium and ensuring GPU acceleration in your Yocto build is advised.

Best regards,
Toradex AI Assistant.

How to use Web Browser – Linux