Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 185 – Brings Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements

Apple has released Safari Technology Preview 185, the latest version of their developer preview web browser. The preview version of Apple’s popular browser offers developers and other interested users the ability to try out features that may or may not, debut in future public release versions of Safari.

‌Safari Technology Preview‌ 185 includes fixes and updates for Accessibility, CSS, Media, Rendering, Web API, Web Inspector, WebAuthn, and WebGPU.

The current ‌Safari Technology Preview‌ release is compatible with machines running macOS Ventura and macOS Sonoma.

Overview

Safari Technology Preview Release 185 is now available for download for macOS Sonoma and macOS Ventura. If you already have Safari Technology Preview installed, you can update it in System Settings under General → Software Update.

This release includes WebKit changes between: 271111@main…271831@main.

Accessibility

Resolved Issues

• Fixed: Removed the default ARIA-level heading for a heading role, matching removal from ARIA specifications. (271497@main) (119059172)

CSS

New Features

• Added support for align-content on block containers. (271818@main) (114740670)
• Added percentage values support for letter-spacing and word-spacing. (271357@main) (116562262)
• Added support for scroll anchoring with overflow-anchor. (271790@main) (118365809)
• Added support for @scope. (271670@main) (119261250)

Resolved Issues

• Fixed CSS counters to update properly on style changes. (271451@main) (109416780)
• Fixed: Updated Full Size Kana table to Unicode 15. (271276@main) (111508663)
• Fixed missing user-agent stylesheet rules for MathML fractions. (271337@main) (116922348)
• Fixed selection gaps to get painted with the expected ::selection pseudo-element color. (271129@main) (117796745)
• Fixed ::backdrop to be allowed after ::slotted(). (271366@main) (119015204)
• Fixed: Removed support for special first track handling to align with the evolving Masonry standard. (271757@main) (119041053)

Media

New Features

• Added WebCodecs VP9 profile 2 support. (271238@main) (118879753)

Resolved Issues

• Fixed an HEVC decoder issue when translating annexb data. (271728@main) (116768196)
• Fixed AV1-in-MP4 codec string not shown in Show Media Stats. (271187@main) (118850797)
• Fixed getDisplayMedia frameRate always at 30 regardless of constraints. (271233@main) (118874132)
• Fixed to not loop if current time or duration is zero. (271256@main) (118902468)
• Fixed in-band captions wrapping unnecessarily. (271415@main) (119024855)

Rendering

Resolved Issues

• Fixed: Removed the <font> text-decorationcolor override quirk. (271338@main) (102920597)
• Fixed shadow invalidation issue in vertical-rl mode. (271416@main) (111915460)
• Fixed text in flex items not breaking under specific conditions. (271122@main) (118796634)

Web API

New Features

• Added Element.prototype.setHTMLUnsafe(), ShadowRoot.prototype.setHTMLUnsafe(), and Document.parseHTMLUnsafe() methods. (271423@main) (115345128)

Resolved Issues

• Fixed updating resizeBy and resizeTo to use int rather than float to align with specifications. (271194@main) (118872048)
• Fixed the CookieChangeEvent to not be exposed when the Cookie Store API is disabled. (271243@main) (118902989)
• Fixed <progress> to use the page’s preferred rendering update interval. (271431@main) (118976548)
• Fixed Element.prototype.setAttributeNode() to not treat attribute names case insensitively. (271363@main) (119013600)
• Fixed WebGL OffscreenCanvas returning the previously created WebGL1 context when asking for WebGL2. (271546@main) (119028794)
• Fixed to allow :checked and :indeterminate to match at the same time. (271430@main) (119075969)

Web Inspector

New Features

• Expanded OffscreenCanvas support for bitmaprenderer, webgl, and webgl2. (271300@main) (109594232)
• Added Grid overlay support for Masonry layout. (271332@main) (118833618)

WebAuthn

New Features

• Added support for getClientCapabilities(). (271584@main) (119058559)

WebGPU

New Features

• Enabled WebGPU to be testable via the Develop menu. (271725@main) (119262908)

While the preview is intended for use by developers and advanced users, to provide Apple with feedback on the development of the Safari browser, it can be run side-by-side with the release version of Safari. The app doesn’t require a developer account to download and install. For more information, visit the Safari Technology Preview website.