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

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
Read Full Article • 18 comments
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
Read Full Article • 138 comments
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
Read Full Article • 102 comments
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Read Full Article • 22 comments
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
Read Full Article • 240 comments
iphone black friday gold

The Best Black Friday iPhone Deals Still Available

Friday November 28, 2025 6:24 am PST by
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season. Note: MacRumors is...
Read Full Article • 3 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...
Read Full Article • 130 comments

Top Rated Comments

diamondsw Avatar
diamondsw
57 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
57 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
57 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
57 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
57 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
57 months ago
it's still in the preferences under Tabs.

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