Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 173 With Safari 17 Features

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 173 adds functionality that is included in Safari 17, coming with macOS Sonoma. There are Feature Flags that replace the Experimental Features section of the Develop menu, and the Develop menu itself has been revamped. Responsive Design Mode has been updated to focus on the responsiveness of a page's design at any height or width.

Available features on ‌macOS Sonoma‌ include Profiles for separating browsing data like History and Favorites, web apps, and improved private browsing mode. Features for all operating systems include Live Text support for vertical text recognition in images and videos, HEIC support, and JPEG XL, a new image format with an improved compression algorithm for better image quality at smaller file sizes than JPEG.

The browser also includes updates for Web Inspector, CSS, Media Queries, Rendering, Editing, JavaScript, Popover, Images, Media, Web API, and SVG.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is compatible with machines running macOS Monterey 12.3 or later, macOS Ventura, and ‌macOS Sonoma‌, the latest version of macOS that Apple is beta testing right now.

The ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings 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 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
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
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 • 161 comments
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

These 5 Features Will Make the iPhone 17 the Biggest Update in Years

Monday July 22, 2024 4:02 pm PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 16 models that we're expecting to see in September are going to be quite similar to the iPhone 15 models, but rumors suggest that Apple is making big changes in 2025. We've been hearing hints of an all-new device in the iPhone lineup, and it may be the most expensive iPhone Apple has offered to date. New 'Slim' Design Rumors have taken to referring to the new iPhone 17...
Read Full Article • 171 comments
iOS 18 on iPhone Feature

Everything New in iOS 18 Beta 4

Tuesday July 23, 2024 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple released the fourth beta of iOS 18 today, introducing small changes to a number of features throughout the operating system. There are no big additions in this beta, but Apple is continuing to refine existing settings and design choices. Apple plans to continue updating iOS 18 over the next few months, with the update set to be released this fall. We've rounded up all of the changes...
Read Full Article • 53 comments
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Launch Early Next Year With OLED Display, 48MP Camera, and More

Monday July 22, 2024 7:22 am PDT by
The fourth-generation iPhone SE will offer a series of major upgrades over the current model, the leaker known as "Ice Universe" claims. The information was listed in a post on Weibo, which also detailed the specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup. As previously rumored, the fourth-generation iPhone SE is expected to feature Face ID and USB-C, marking a major upgrade from current and previous ...
Read Full Article • 120 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
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

Top Rated Comments

alwillis Avatar
alwillis
14 months ago

Support for JPEG XL does seem odd. Seems like that ship has passed. Also Google seems to be starting to promote AVIF which is a better compression algorithm and can do video as well.
Many in the web community were pretty upset that Google dropped support for JPEG XL after including it behind a flag for months. JPEG XL has advantages over AVIF, including progressive decoding and the ability to recompress existing JPEG files in a lossless fashion while saving 20% on file size.

I think it's a shrewd move by Apple, getting out ahead of Google with an image format many in the web community really want. However JPEG XL was being viewed previously, it'll be supported on hundreds of millions devices this fall after Sonoma, iOS 17 and iPadOS ship.

The article The Case for JPEG XL ('https://cloudinary.com/blog/the-case-for-jpeg-xl') covers all of the details.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
PsykX
14 months ago

boo, no profiles except on Sonoma :(
I've gotta say, this is the only reason I want the new Safari. Want to separate Home from Work. Guess I'll wait more!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alwillis Avatar
alwillis
14 months ago

I downloaded the tech preview but I can't view JPEG XL files - it's not listed in the Developer > Feature Flags section. How do I enable support for it? I'm on macOS Ventura 13.4.1 - is it a Sonoma-only feature?
JPEG XL is Sonoma-only at this point.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
emosewamai Avatar
emosewamai
14 months ago

Safari Technology Preview 173 adds functionality that is included in Safari 17
[LIST=1]
* I know, I am in minority for asking this feature - Split Tabs. I found it super useful than cascading two windows and switching between them, window losing focus etc. Arc Browser is super helpful with this feature.
* Native ad blocking would be great just like how Brave does. Using external ad blockers is hogging my machine/Safari and I end up restarting Safari.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CostaMoses Avatar
CostaMoses
14 months ago

boo, no profiles except on Sonoma :(

I've gotta say, this is the only reason I want the new Safari. Want to separate Home from Work. Guess I'll wait more!
you both may want to try Arc Browser - their profiles and spaces work really well. I used Safari for pretty much everything, but switched over a few months ago and am so happy with it! The only thing I miss is how the codes texted to me would autofill on Safari. That is such a nice Safari feature.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mr.Mozi Avatar
Mr.Mozi
14 months ago
Can someone confirm whether the responsive presets (^⌘R) are back or not? Apple has removed them entirely in Sonoma's Safari 17, making web development quite hard.



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