Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 129 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements

by

Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview Feature
‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release 129 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, CSS, Scrolling, Rendering, WebAssembly, Web API, Platform Features, IndexedDB, Media, WebGL, and WebCrypto.

Apple says that on macOS Big Sur, this release requires enabling the GPU Process: Media option from the Experimental Features setting in the Develop menu. Turning on the option addresses issues with streaming services.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is built on the new Safari 15 update included in macOS Monterey, and as such, it includes several Safari 15 features. There's a new streamlined tab bar with support for Tab Groups to organize tabs, along with improved support for Safari Web Extensions.

Live Text allows users to select and interact with text in images on the web, but the macOS Monterey beta and an M1 Mac is required. There's also Quick Notes support for adding links and Safari highlights to remember important information and ideas.

Other updates include WebGL 2 and new HTML, CSS, and JavaScript features.

The new ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available for both macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey, the newest version of the Mac operating system that's set to release this fall.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.

Apple's aim with ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.

Tag: Safari Technology Preview

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
Read Full Article • 68 comments
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Read Full Article • 160 comments
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
Read Full Article • 162 comments
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
Read Full Article • 130 comments
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
Read Full Article • 80 comments
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...
Read Full Article • 60 comments

Top Rated Comments

diamondsw Avatar
diamondsw
39 months ago
Am I the only one who uses the Favorites Bar? It looks really bizarre being under the tab bar now.

Attachment Image
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ericfroemling Avatar
ericfroemling
39 months ago

Looks like they removed the option to use the new combined layout for tab bar. The tab bar is always separate in this release.
It looks like it's just been moved to Preferences -> Tabs instead of being under the View menu.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jabbr Avatar
jabbr
39 months ago

Weird thing is that my setting was reset after updating, since I was using the compact.
Yeah, makes we wonder if they will completely ditch the idea upon release. I hope not... I like the little bit of extra vertical space.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chucker23n1 Avatar
chucker23n1
39 months ago
The release notes no longer say that tab groups don’t sync.

But, it looks like tab groups don’t sync.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
abhibeckert Avatar
abhibeckert
39 months ago

I really want to use Safari but no chromium engine kills it for me. I'm not saying you should use Chrome, just a chromium browser: Brave, Edge etc. Firefox is slow on some sites, while chromium browsers are fast.
And every test I've ever seen shows Safari browsers are faster. As someone who uses both, that's been my experience too. It's a noticeable difference.


Also Chrome is not the battery enemy it used to be. Lots of improvements the last couple of months
Forbes ran an article from earlier this year showing Chrome with an "Energy Impact" number 10x higher than Safari. It also mentioned the test device (M1 MacBook Pro) gets warm running Chrome but stays cold with Safari... which means Chrome is likely pushing the CPU hard enough that it will drop the clock speed to manage temperatures on some hardware. When that happens it will start getting *really* slow (I'm guessing this is why Chrome feels noticeably slower than Safari for me).

I'm sure Chrome has improved, they're working on it continuously, but I doubt it's improved that much.

And Safari isn't sitting still either. Safari 15 is even faster and uses less power than Safari 14.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jabbr Avatar
jabbr
39 months ago
it's still in the preferences under Tabs.

Attachment Image
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments