Summary of new functions of Apple's web browser 'Safari 14', enhancement of enhanced functions, biometric authentication with Face ID, etc.

Apple's conference for developers ' WWDC 2020 ' revealed new versions of each OS, including iOS 14 and macOS Big Sur . In WWDC 2020, Safari 14 , the next version of Apple's web browser, was also announced, and beta release notes were released.

Safari and Web-WWDC20-Apple Developer
https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=e4u1mtfu

Safari 14 Beta Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-notes/safari-14-beta-release-notes

Safari 14 removes Flash, gets support for breach alerts, HTTP/3, and WebP | ZDNet
https://www.zdnet.com/article/safari-14-removes-flash-gets-support-for-breach-alerts-http3-and-webp/

◆ WebExtensions API support
The WebExtensions API is an extension API originally developed for Chrome and has been adopted by Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi and Edge. In other words, by supporting the WebExtensions API, existing extensions for Chrome and Firefox can be ported to Safari. However, according to Apple, only the macOS version of Safari supports the WebExtensions API at the time of article creation.

◆ WebP format support
WebP is an open still image format developed by Google, and is expected to replace JPEG, which is one of the most popular image formats at the time of article creation.

Google announces a new image format ``WebP'' instead of JPEG, small file size speeds up web display-GIGAZINE

As you can see from the format compatibility table on the site below, Safari has the least support for the WebP format among the major web browsers, but it will finally be officially supported in Safari 14.

Can I use... Support tables for HTML5, CSS3, etc
https://caniuse.com/#feat=webp

◆HTTP/3 support
Safari 14 will support the next-generation version of HTTP, the communication protocol for browsing websites, called ' HTTP/3 '. HTTP/3 is a protocol that was originally called 'HTTP-over- QUIC '. At the time of writing this article, specifications are under development, and support for HTTP/3 has been announced by Cloudflare and Chrome.

What is the current performance of 'HTTP/3' aimed at speeding up websites? -GIGAZINE

◆End of support for Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is one of the video formats, and it was no exaggeration to say that it was one of the most popular web contents. However, the Adobe on December 31, 2020 to complete the update and distribution of Flash Player, further to block the execution of the content in Flash Player announcement . About 24 years of Flash history has finally come to an end.

Since the end of Flash has been announced since 2017, Safari has already announced that it will end support for Flash. From Safari 14, Flash support will be officially completed.

Apple browser'Safari' enters Adobe Flash support end countdown stage-GIGAZINE

◆ Face ID or Touch ID authentication
Safari 14 will add a system that can use Face ID or Touch ID for login authentication on websites that support ' WebAuthn ', which is a multi-factor authentication standard that requires no password.

Also, if the password stored in iCloud Keychain is compromised, the user will be notified and the password update page will be opened. The URLs for the password update pages of major web services are summarized by the open source project ' Password Manager Resources ' launched by Apple.

Apple launches open source project to develop password creation app-GIGAZINE

◆Automatic one-time passcode entry by SMS
The OTP method, which sends a one-time one-time passcode by SMS, is the mainstream two-step verification method. Apple has proposed the standardization of this OTP format using SMS, and has already received support from Google. When using the OTP format that conforms to this standard, the OTP code sent to the user's terminal via SMS will be automatically entered in Safari.

◆ Addition of translation function
From Safari 14, a translation function that allows you to directly translate the page on the browser will be added. The supported languages are English, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Russian and Portuguese (Brazil).

◆ Improved privacy
With the version update in March 2020, Safari is the first general-purpose web browser to be equipped with a function to completely block third-party cookies with the Intelligent Tracking Prevention tracking prevention function for privacy protection.

Apple's Safari completely blocks third party cookies, the first popular browser-GIGAZINE

And Safari 14 will add a privacy reporting feature that shows trackers when Intelligent Tracking Prevention blocks access to your identity. In addition, the Storage Access API in private browsing mode will be enabled.

◆Improved performance
Safari 14 supports incremental loading of PDF files, improved indexedDB API and JavaScript cookie handling, JavaScript for-of syntax, and tab closing performance.

Regarding JavaScript, support for data types such as BigInt , EventTarget , and public field declarations was added. Also, CSS support has been expanded, and details are explained in the movie at the following site.

What's new for web developers-WWDC 2020-Videos-Apple Developer
https://developer.apple.com/videos/

The developer beta version of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and macOS BigSur, which have the beta version of Safari 14, will be released in July 2020, and the public version will be released in the fall of 2020.