Apple Safari update is causing chaos with web apps

(Image credit: Apple)

It would appear that the latest version of Safari doesn’t play well with third-party web apps, courtesy of several bugs introduced by the development team.

According to a report by The Register, the IndexedDB JavaScript API no longer functions properly on Apple’s web browser, versions 14.1.1 (for macOS) and 11.4 (iOS 14.6.).

Apple’s WebKit team first reported on the bug on June 2, saying it appeared when applications try to use IndexedDB NoSQL manager to store data for the first time. In 100% of the cases, the first attempt fails, while reloading the page, or web app, instantly (albeit temporarily) resolves the issue.

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This may not have been too big of a deal if Apple’s policies on storage APIs and browser rendering engines weren’t as strict as they are. There are only two storage APIs recommended by the computing giant - one being IndexedDB Java Script API (also the most popular one, according to The Register), and the other one being Cache Storage API, severely shrinking the range of available options.

There’s also the issue of browser rendering engines - as Apple demands all iOS browsers be based on WebKit, and nothing else.

Frustrated developers

All of this is frustrating developers. Socket founder took to Twitter do complain, describing the bug as “spectacularly awful”. “It's really really hard to build reliable websites on macOS and iOS with showstopper bugs like this,” he says. “This should have been caught by basic unit testing.”

Speaking to The Register, software developer Matt Mastracci said Apple’s stance towards adopting new standards has been “disappointingly slow”.

"At some point the developer experience on Safari was top-of-the-line but they are falling into the same trap as Microsoft did when they had a monopoly on the desktop browser,” he added.

Whether or not Apple keeps this “monopoly” might depend on regulators, as the company’s rules are currently being probed into by lawmakers everywhere. There’s also Epic Game’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which should see closure soon, and which could affect the way Apple approaches its browser policies.

Apple is yet to comment on the discovered bug.

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Via: The Register

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.