Safari 16.1 Brings Support for Passkeys, Web Push, Apple Pencil Hover and More

Alongside macOS Ventura, iOS 16.1, and iPadOS 16.1, Apple has introduced Safari 16.1, which brings a number of new features to Safari on Apple's platforms. Safari 16.1 is built right in to iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1, and macOS Ventura, but it is also available on macOS Monterey and macOS Big Sur.

safari icon blue banner
The update includes Web Push for macOS Ventura, allowing websites and web apps to send notifications using the same standards as other browsers. Notifications can be delivered even when Safari isn't running, and managed in the Notifications Center.

Web Push functionality that has already been implemented for a web app or website will automatically work in Safari, and it uses the same Apple Push Notification service that powers native push on Apple devices.

With Safari 16.1, passkeys can be used on iPads and Macs running iPadOS 16, macOS Ventura, macOS Monterey, and macOS Big Sur in addition to devices running iOS 16. Passkeys are designed to replace passwords, and websites like PayPal are already implementing support.

For new iPad Pro models, Safari 16.1 adds support for hover with Apple Pencil, a feature that allows the ‌iPad Pro‌'s display to detect the ‌Apple Pencil‌ when it is up to 12mm away. In Safari 16.1, users will be able to see hover states for links, animations, and more.

Other new features in Safari 16.1 include new viewport sizes in iPadOS to support Stage Manager, screen capture improvements, and more, with full details available in Apple's WebKit blog post.

Tag: Safari

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Top Rated Comments

applicious84 Avatar
28 months ago
Glad they added Web Push, the most annoying thing in all browsers
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BenGoren Avatar
28 months ago
Push doesn’t do much for me.

Let me know when they implement pushback, which should deliver a “painful-but-harmless” electric shock to the executives of any organization that attempts to send me a push.

b&
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
28 months ago
Hasn't Safari on MacOS supported web push for a long time now? It was iOS where it hasn't been supported, and Apple claims that's coming next year.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dan From Canada Avatar
28 months ago

Glad they added Web Push, the most annoying thing in all browsers
"Notifications can be delivered even when Safari isn't running, and managed in the Notifications Center."

...and managed in the Notifications Center which I assume means that it can be turned off.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Beautiful Opinion Avatar
28 months ago
Hopefully it fixes the annoying destructive tab moving bugs I experienced a lot on the previous versions of Safari 16.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Beautiful Opinion Avatar
28 months ago

anyone having a case with Safari duplicating tabs on moving them across different windows? instead of snapping them? When I move one tab to other window, it is now apparently mirrored instead of simply being moved. Changing the website on it in any window will change it on the other one too. annoying :/ and I cant seem to find a setting for it
I've had that issue. I also had an issue where moving a tab to another window caused tabs to duplicate hugely each time I tried to close them. 0_o Crazy stuff. All you can do is be careful and quit and re-open Safari sometimes. Apple in 2022 eh?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)