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Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 38 With Beacon API Enabled by Default

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safaripreviewiconApple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.

Safari Technology Preview release 38 includes fixes and improvements for Fetch API, Web Payments, CSS, Web API, Media, Apple Pay, Web Inspector, and WebDriver. Today's update also enables the Beacon API by default and implements new Beacon API features.

With Safari 11 now available to developers through the macOS High Sierra beta, Apple is providing two versions of Safari Technology Preview, one for macOS Sierra users and one for those using macOS High Sierra.

The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store 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.

Top Rated Comments

Susurs Avatar
117 months ago
What is Beacon?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JaguarF Avatar
117 months ago
As was pointed out to me recently, if you enable everything under Develop > Experimental, it's 464. (On Sierra.)
Really? I get a score of 474 with all the experimental features activated.

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Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
117 months ago
Does Preview version support Youtube 4k already or still nothing ?
Seems to work for some videos I tried now. Maybe the other ones lied about being 4K or need Flash what Safari seems only support for very old and/or long videos that are Flash only.

A few days ago I checked it with the previous version and found nothing higher than 1440p.




Edit: Forgot to prove that it's really Safari.



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Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
117 months ago
What is Beacon?
I wondered this, too. I found this documentation ('https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Beacon_API'). The "Why Use Beacon?" section gives an example use case.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
117 months ago
I have a question for you folks who are running this preview, now that the beacon api has been enabled.

Is there an option/setting to turn that off?
Normally everything is unchecked in Develop/Experimental Features, if you install it for the first time except for the Beacon API this time.
It seems there are four new features because I always check everything. Even though I don't have any clue what all that means. ;)




[doublepost=1503519194][/doublepost]
Interesting... this is the first time the Safari Tech Preview update hasn't shown up for me in the App Store immediately after I read the article about it here on MacRumors. Hmm. o_O
It hasn't shown up there for me too since at least the last three versions. I Just wanted to ask if anyone else experienced this.

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Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
groovyd Avatar
117 months ago
Normally everything is unchecked in Develop/Experimental Features, if you install it for the first time except for the Beacon API this time.
It seems there are four new features because I always check everything. Even though I don't have any clue what all that means. ;)




[doublepost=1503519194][/doublepost]

It hasn't shown up there for me too since at least the last three versions. I Just wanted to ask if anyone else experienced this.
Thanks for posting that as it turned me on to why some webgl games i play recently quit working on tech preview. unchecked WebGL 2 and now they work again ;)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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