Apple's New Safari Technology Preview Browser Is Aimed At Web Developers 42
Sarah Perez reports for TechCrunch: Apple today announced it's expanding its efforts in the area of web development, with the launch of a new version of its Safari web browser, designed specifically for developers. Called Safari Technology Preview, the company says this browser will allow developers to get an early look at upcoming web technologies in OS X and iOS, including things like the latest layout technologies, visual effects, and other developer tools. The idea is to allow developers to more easily get their hands on these technologies and be able to experiment, then offer feedback to Apple earlier on so the company can make the necessary improvements. AnandTech's Brandon Chester elaborates: It's available from Apple's developer website, and updates will come every two weeks via the Mac App Store. This makes the list of changes and additions easily accessible with each update, and because the builds are signed by Apple there's full support for iCloud integration. [...] One important thing to note about the Safari Technology Preview is that, while the app is available from Apple's developer site, you don't need to be a registered developer paying the yearly iOS and OS X publishing fee to access it. Since the target audience consists mainly of programmers building websites and web applications, it doesn't make sense to limit it to developers building native apps for iOS and OS X.
Re: Way to catch up to 2008 (Score:2)
You could always download the WebKit Nightlies. This just makes it easier.
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You could always download the WebKit Nightlies. This just makes it easier.
These installs are also signed by Apple, as opposed to the nightlies. What that means for the end user is that things that they expect to work, like iCloud syncing for example, will continue to work while using the technology preview. They would not work if running the nightlies. Updates to the technology preview will also come every 2 weeks via the App Store, so the user doesn't have to remember to download new technology preview builds.
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Congrats, Apple! Once again, you're last to the finish line with another browser-related spec/feature/idea.
Safari was the first browser to pass the Acid2 [wikipedia.org] and Acid3 [maximumpc.com] tests. But more recently, Safari fell behind the other browsers in the HTML5 [html5test.com] tests. I'm glad Apple is working on Safari again.
Nice enough, but one caveat (Score:1)
With good reason, the build uses its own cache, recent lists and cookies. So you'll have to log into everything again (your passwords are still in the keychain so it's not a problem) and do some basic setup and plugin install. Other than that, seems fast, stable and working.
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And I forgot to do that login before posting that. And then installed AdBlock.
Since then I've had a single page reload - with that exception it's been very fast to use.
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You still install browser plug-ins, on OS X, in 2016?
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Last time I tried AdBlock for Safari the damn thing was using twice as much RAM as the browser usually does.
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Still using Safari, no Ad blocker. But I also don't have Java, Flash or Adobe Reader installed on my system.
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It's different now. By default, it uses Safari's in-built content blocker.
Standards compliant? (Score:5, Insightful)
Does this mean they're finally up to standards compliance again, instead of being the IE6 of this decade?
Re:Standards compliant? (Score:4, Informative)
Is this what's killing my iPhone? (Score:1)
Just wondering. iOS 9.2 and 9.3 are crashing.
Results matter.
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NINAB There is really no good reason why I shouldn't be able to install any compatible ios version. Have you tried ios 6 7 8 or 9.1?
Safari on Windows? (Score:2)
... Since the target audience consists mainly of programmers building websites and web applications, it doesn't make sense to limit it to developers building native apps for iOS and OS X. ...
Another limitation which has been a source of annoyance for me personally is that desktop Safari is exclusively available on the Mac. There was a time when a fully supported version of Safari for Windows existed... that has since been discontinued [appleinsider.com]. So here's to hoping that this Tech Preview version also manages to properly resurrect Safari on Windows.
(Note that I'm a MacHead at home, who is forced into the Windows mold at work... and I'm quite certain that many other MacHeads share my fate. There is, o
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Given the absolute abortion that was Safari on Windows, I for one don't want it back. Even dealing with IE's idiosyncratic bullshit was more fun than debugging that panful of arse gravy.
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Nobody used Safari on Windows. It was nowhere near as good as Chrome even though (at the time) it used the same rendering engine.
Any WebRTC support? (Score:2)
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That's funny, because as a dev working on OS X, a browser that only exists on Windows and/or Linux doesn't exist either.
Fuck you Internet Explorer, fuck you Edge.
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As soon as Apple lets me run Safari or even OSX on my expensive hardware (superior to anything they currently sell), then I'll give a shit about their niche of a niche web browsers.
First off, we both know you're making this up. Second, on mobile Safari accounts for a fourth of all browser usage [statcounter.com] and is second only to Chrome (at about one third of all traffic). Any dev who ignores Safari - and therefore the most profitable mobile platform - in 2016 would soon find themselves unemployed.
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Chrome on iOS is Safari with a different skin. So is Opera and Firefox. Because they are all using the same WebKit under the hood, that is what is reported in stats.
Re: As a dev: Safari doesn't exist. (Score:1)
Why is this modded down?
As a web dev, I can tell you there are only two browsers: Chrome and Internet Explorer. No other browsers matter.
You develop in Chrome, then test in IE until everything works. No one cares if it doesn't work in Safari (it probably will if it does in Chrome) or Firefox (no one cares about Firefox at all, certainly not Mozilla).
So is there any chance for language preferences? (Score:3)
So does this mean Safari will start honoring browser-level language preferences?
Honest, I'm trying to do things the Apple way and enjoy the so-called Tao, but the latest nuisance of language preferences is really annoying me. Just because I live in a country doesn't mean that the local language is my first preference.
The latest in apple web technology (Score:2)
It sure feels good to think different.
Sent from my iPhone