Technology
Web performance benchmark updates highlight widening gap between site sizes and device capabilities
An updated analysis sets new baseline network and hardware testing parameters while warning that growing JavaScript payloads continue to outpace low-end device performance.
The short version
- Updated web testing guidance for 2026 recommends evaluating performance against a 9 Mbps download link, 3 Mbps upload link, 100 ms round-trip time, and budget devices like the Samsung Galaxy A24 4G.
- Median mobile web page sizes have grown to 2.6 MiB, with JavaScript payloads expanding to 680 KiB at the median and 1.3 MiB at the 75th percentile.
- Fewer than 50% of web origins achieve passing mobile Core Web Vitals scores as smartphone replacement cycles stretch beyond two years.
Key facts
- Updated 2026 network testing parameters are established at 9 Mbps downlink, 3 Mbps uplink, and 100 ms round-trip time.[Hacker News]
- The recommended benchmark testing devices are the Samsung Galaxy A24 4G and an entry-level HP 14 laptop.[Hacker News]
- The median mobile web page size has increased to 2.6 MiB, with mobile JavaScript payloads reaching 680 KiB at the 50th percentile and 1.3 MiB at the 75th percentile.[Hacker News]
- Fewer than half of web origins record passing Core Web Vitals scores for mobile users, while over 40% perform poorly for desktop users.[Hacker News]
- The median smartphone replacement cycle now exceeds two years, with 75th percentile devices averaging nearly three years old.[Hacker News]
What remains uncertain
- Certain System-on-Chip (SoC) cache measurements in the Android ecosystem rely on estimates due to limited public documentation from hardware vendors.[Hacker News]
Sources
- The Performance Inequality Gap, 2026Hacker News