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.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is built on the Safari 16 update and it includes features coming in macOS Ventura. It adds support for Live Text in videos and images, new web technologies, web push Passkeys, improved Safari Web Extensions, and more, with Apple's notes below.
Many of the new Safari 16 features are now available in Safari Technology Preview 147:
- Live Text. Select and interact with text in videos or translate text in images on the web in macOS Ventura betas on Apple Silicon-based Macs.
- Web technologies. Experience and test the HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other web technologies that are available in Safari 16 Beta and included in previous Safari Technology Preview releases.
- Web Push. Send notifications to people who opt-in on your website or web app with Safari Technology Preview on macOS Ventura betas.
- Passkeys. Preview the new type of phishing-resistant credential that makes signing in to websites safer and easier. Available through Safari's WebAuthn platform authenticator. To learn more about passkeys, see Meet passkeys.
- Improved Safari Web Extensions. Test out API improvements including the ability to open a Safari Web Extension popover programmatically.
- Web Inspector Extensions. Build custom tooling or convert existing developer tools extensions to use in Web Inspector.
- Flexbox Inspector. Use the new visualization overlay in Web Inspector to help you more quickly and easily understand the layout of elements with Flexbox. It marks both the free space and gaps between flex items to reveal how they affect the result.
Shared Tab Groups, syncing for Tab Groups, Website Settings, and Web Extensions are not enabled in this release.
The new build of Safari Technology Preview is compatible with machines running macOS 13 Ventura, unlike prior versions of Safari Technology Preview. Updates to Safari Technology Preview are no longer available for macOS Big Sur, according to Apple.
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.
