Safari Technology Preview Turns 10: A Decade of Testing Apple's Web Technologies

Source: MacRumors

Overview

Today marks the 10th anniversary of Safari Technology Preview, a version of Safari aimed at testing new web technologies.

History

Apple first announced Safari Technology Preview for Mac on March 30, 2016, and rolled it out that same day. At the time, Apple said it wanted to get feedback from developers on browser development using a method more easily accessible than WebKit. The description on Apple’s developer website reads:

“Get a sneak peek at upcoming web technologies in macOS and iOS with Safari Technology Preview and experiment with these technologies in your websites and extensions.”

Usage

• Safari Technology Preview can be used side‑by‑side with the main Safari browser.
• It can be set as the default browser if users prefer it.
• Although it is designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download and use.
• It has a purple icon to distinguish it from the standard version of Safari.

Compatibility

Safari Technology Preview runs on macOS Tahoe now, and when macOS 27 launches, it will work with macOS 27 and macOS Tahoe.

Versions and Release Notes

• Over the decade, 240 versions of Safari Technology Preview have been released.
• Apple provides detailed release notes for each update, highlighting new additions and bug fixes that later appear in the primary version of Safari.

References

• Apple’s developer website: https://developer.apple.com/safari/technology-preview/
• Original article: “Safari Technology Preview Turns 10: A Decade of Testing Apple’s Web Technologies,” MacRumors.com.