Safari 18.0: New features enhance web browsing across Apple devices

Apple this month released Safari 18.0, introducing a range of new features and improvements that enhance web browsing across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS platforms. This update boosts web functionality, security, and user experience.

Distraction Control

Safari 18.0 introduces Distraction Control, a feature designed to improve focus while browsing. According to Apple's documentation, users can now hide distracting elements such as sign-in banners, cookie preference popups, and newsletter signup overlays. This feature is accessible through the Page Menu, where users can choose to "Hide Distracting Items" and tap on elements they wish to remove from view.

Video Viewer

The new Video Viewer feature enhances video consumption on web pages. When a prominent video element is present, users can access "Video Viewer" from the Page Menu. This action enlarges the video to fill the entire window. If the user switches tabs or closes the window, the video automatically enters picture-in-picture mode, ensuring continuous playback.

iPhone Mirroring and Remote Inspection

Safari 18.0 on macOS Sequoia introduces iPhone Mirroring, allowing users to control their iPhone directly from their Mac. This feature, combined with remote inspection capabilities, significantly simplifies the process of testing and debugging websites on iOS devices. Developers can now use Web Inspector to wirelessly debug websites running on an iPhone, all from their Mac's screen.

Web Apps for Mac

Building on the web app support introduced in macOS Sonoma, Safari 18.0 brings two key improvements:

1. Enhanced link handling: Links that match the scope of a web app added to the Dock will now open directly in the web app instead of the default browser when clicked outside of a browser environment.
2. Extension support: Users can now personalize web apps on Mac with Safari Web Extensions and Content Blockers, offering a customized experience for each web app.

View Transitions API

Safari 18.0 adds support for the View Transitions API, providing developers with an optimized method to animate elements between different states. This feature enables smoother, more visually appealing transitions between page states, enhancing the overall user experience of web applications.

WebXR and Spatial Web Features

With the release of visionOS 2, Safari 18.0 introduces support for WebXR, allowing developers to create immersive virtual reality experiences accessible through the web. This includes support for immersive-vr sessions and the new WebXR transient-pointer input mode, which enables natural input methods on visionOS.

Additionally, Safari 18.0 on visionOS 2 adds support for spatial photos and panoramas. Developers can now use the JavaScript Fullscreen API to create immersive experiences with spatial and panoramic images, similar to those in the native Photos app.

CSS Enhancements

Several CSS improvements have been implemented in Safari 18.0:

• Style Queries: Developers can now use Style Queries to test CSS Custom Properties, allowing for more dynamic and reusable style definitions.
• Relative Color Syntax improvements: Safari 18.0 now supports referencing currentcolor and system color keywords in Relative Color Syntax, offering more flexible color definitions.
• Animating display: The display property can now be animated using transition animations.

JavaScript and Web API Updates

Safari 18.0 introduces support for Unicode 15.1.0 characters in RegExp and adds the v flag with RegExp.prototype[Symbol.matchAll]. These additions provide more powerful ways to match Unicode characters.

Several Web API improvements have also been implemented, including support for URL.parse(), expanded Declarative Shadow DOM capabilities, and new methods for handling byte data in various web objects.

Media Handling Improvements

WebKit for Safari 18.0 adds Workers support for both Managed Media Source (MMS) and Media Source Extensions (MSE). This enhancement can significantly improve video playback performance on complex websites by allowing media processing to occur off the main thread.

Security and Privacy Enhancements

Safari 18.0 strengthens security by upgrading all passive subresource requests to HTTPS in mixed content settings, adhering to Mixed Content Level 2 standards. This change ensures that all images and media on websites are served over secure connections.

Passkey Improvements

Building on the passkey support introduced two years ago, Safari 18.0 adds three new features:

1. Support for using mediation=conditional for web authentication credential creation, allowing automatic upgrading of existing password-based accounts to passkeys.
2. The ability to use passkeys across related origins, enabling websites to use the same passkey across a limited number of domains sharing a credential backend.
3. Support for the WebAuthn prf extension, allowing retrieval of a symmetric key from a passkey for user data encryption.

Deprecations and Removals

To improve interoperability and reduce dependency on non-standard features, Safari 18.0 has deprecated or removed several elements:

• JPEG2000 image format support has been removed.
• AppCache support has been fully removed, following its deprecation in previous versions.
• Several non-standard -webkit prefixed CSS pseudo-classes and properties have been deprecated.
• Support for some non-standard Web APIs has been removed, including KeyboardEvent.altGraphKey and AES-CFB support from WebCrypto.

Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements

Safari 18.0 includes numerous bug fixes and performance enhancements across various areas, including:

• Accessibility improvements for VoiceOver and other assistive technologies
• JavaScript engine optimizations and specification compliance updates
• CSS rendering and computation fixes
• Media playback and WebRTC enhancements
• Web API corrections and standard alignment updates
• Security vulnerability patches

Availability and updating

Safari 18.0 is available on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, macOS Sonoma, macOS Ventura, and visionOS 2. Users can update their devices to access the latest version of Safari:

• On iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro: Go to Settings > General > Software Update
• On Mac (macOS Sonoma or Ventura): Go to System Settings > General > Software Update and click "More info…" under Updates Available

Developer resources and feedback

Apple encourages developers to test their websites and web applications with Safari 18.0 to ensure compatibility and take advantage of new features. The Safari Technology Preview is available for download, providing access to upcoming features and the latest Web Inspector tools.

Feedback on Safari 18.0 can be provided through various channels:

• Social media: @webkit on X (formerly Twitter) or @jensimmons@front-end.social and @jondavis@mastodon.social on Mastodon
• Bug reports: Safari UI feedback or WebKit bug reports for web technologies and Web Inspector issues
• Website compatibility issues: Reports can be filed at webcompat.com

Key Facts

• Release Date: September 16, 2024
• Platforms: iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia, macOS Sonoma, macOS Ventura, visionOS 2
• Major New Features:
  • Distraction Control
  • Video Viewer
  • iPhone Mirroring and Remote Inspection
  • Improved Web Apps for Mac
  • View Transitions API
  • WebXR Support
  • Spatial Web Features
  • CSS Enhancements (Style Queries, Relative Color Syntax improvements)
  • JavaScript and Web API Updates
  • Media Handling Improvements
  • Security and Privacy Enhancements
  • Passkey Improvements
• Deprecations: JPEG2000, AppCache, various non-standard APIs
• Bug Fixes: Over 200 issues resolved across multiple areas

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