Apple Launches a New Browser Focused on Emerging Technology and Experimental Features

Following in the footsteps of its Silicon Valley neighbor: Google, Apple on Wednesday officially took the wraps an all-new, though intrinsically similar, developer-focused version of its popular Safari web browser for Mac OS X.

In essence, much akin to Google’s Chrome ‘Canary Build’, Apple’s new version of Safari — which has been appropriately named ‘Safari Technology Preview’ — is a full-fledged web browser for Mac OS X that’s geared more towards developers who want to experiment with forthcoming, web-based technologies and test new features that could eventually see their way into Apple’s more conventional, user-centric version of the app.

Boasting many of the same, though many different, features of its Blue-hued brother, Safari Technology Preview is a standalone application for Mac OS X. For starters, it features iCloud capabilities, unlike the stock version of Safari, and includes many other new features that enable developers to create a plethora of web-based applications. However, it features mostly the same user interface patterns and design elements of its conventional counterpart.

Even still, Safari Technology Preview is unlikely to be of much benefit to the average Mac OS X user — seeing as how it’s been specifically created and fine-tuned to be used by tech-savvy web developers. Also the stability of Safari Technology Preview, much like Google’s Chrome Canary, isn’t guaranteed — and, as such, users could encounter a slew of technical difficulties or experience spontaneous crashes when using the application.

In other words, although Safari Technology Preview will certainly be far less stable than the traditional builds of the Safari browser, not every single aspect of the new browser will be as comprehensively tested and fool-proofed as they would have been on the traditional version.

Nevertheless, reflecting the same commitment to users and developers as Google’s Chrome browser, Apple has committed to regularly updating Safari Technology Preview on a nightly basis moving forward and ongoing — with each subsequent release focusing largely on security improvements.

So, if you’re willing to take the risk, and don’t mind the otherwise “experimental” nature of Apple’s Safari Technology Preview, you can download the new, purple-hued version of the browser from Apple’s developer portal, here. And just remember, by downloading, you can be assured that you’ll always receive automatic updates via the Mac App Store.

What do you think about Apple’s cameo into the world of web-based developer applications like Safari Technology Preview? What features would you like to see employed in future releases of Safari?

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