Apple has just introduced a new version of Safari browser for web developers called “Safari Technology Preview”, which features some impressive technology not found in the consumer version of Safari, The Next Web is reporting. Apple says that Safari Technology Preview, which is a mix of Safari’s stability and the energy of WebKit nightly builds, will be updated every two weeks and that Apple will sign and validate each release.
The new version of Safari will allow web developers to experience the latest in HTML, CSS, JavaScript and WebKit, and with the ability to sync with iCloud data, settings and bookmarks will be the same as the consumer version of Safari. “The most complete implementations” of ESMAScript 6 have also been included in Safari Technology Preview, using which developers can use object oriented principles in JavaScript iterators, APIs and code. There’s also a dedicated JavaScript compiler called B3.
Apple also says it will look to WebKit nightlies for inspiration for Safari Technology Preview, but that it won’t necessarily work the tech found in those nightlies into the new browser. It’s meant for Web developers who want to build for incoming standard technology, not as a stable version of WebKit nightlies.
To that, it’s easy to consider Apple’s WebKit/Safari builds as competitive with Chrome’s channels. the difference is that the Chrome beta and developer channels are more like playgrounds, while Safari Technology Preview is meant as a forward-facing browser for what’s on the horizon.
Best of all, you don’t have to be a registered developer to download Safari Technology Preview from Apple’s developer website. You can grab it for free using the following link.
