Safari Technology Preview Release 242 is now available for download on both macOS Tahoe and macOS Sequoia. If you already have the preview installed, you can update it via System Settings by navigating to General → Software Update. This build introduces several new features and resolves numerous bugs across accessibility, CSS, forms, HTML, and images. Below, we answer common questions about what's new and improved in this release.
What accessibility improvements are in Safari Technology Preview 242?
This release addresses two key accessibility issues. First, VoiceOver was incorrectly reading text embedded within images that had role="presentation". The bug has been fixed so that VoiceOver now correctly ignores such decorative images. Second, macOS accessibility support for customizable <select> elements using appearance: base-select has been improved. Custom select elements should now work more reliably with assistive technologies on macOS, offering a better experience for users who rely on screen readers and other tools.
What new CSS features were added in this release?
Two new CSS capabilities are included. The attr() function from CSS Values Level 5 is now supported, allowing you to retrieve attribute values from HTML elements directly in CSS. This enables more dynamic styling without JavaScript. Additionally, the value oblique-only for the font-synthesis-style property is now available, as defined in CSS Fonts Level 4. This lets you specify that only oblique (synthetic slanted) styles should be synthesized, giving finer control over font rendering when the actual italic or oblique font faces are missing.
Which CSS bugs were fixed in this build?
Multiple CSS issues were resolved. A notable fix ensures that @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) inside an iframe now correctly matches when the iframe's own color-scheme is set to dark. The position-try-order property now interprets logical axis values using the containing block's writing mode rather than the element's own writing mode. Percent-height replaced elements no longer compute stale preferred widths in shrink-to-fit containers. The table cell nowrap minimum width calculation quirk now only applies in quirks mode as intended. Checkbox outlines appear correctly aligned again. Anchor-positioned elements anchored to children of sticky boxes now stick as expected. Pseudo-elements are sorted correctly when sorting anchor elements by tree order. Ligatures no longer cause a non-zero layout width for text with font-size: 0. The :in-range and :out-of-range pseudo-classes update correctly when the readonly attribute changes. Lastly, view-timeline-inset serialization now properly coalesces identical values.
What fix was made for the <select multiple> form element?
An issue where a <select multiple> element did not always fire the onchange event when the mouse button was released far outside the element has been resolved. Previously, if a user clicked to select an option but released the mouse well outside the element boundaries, the change event might not trigger, causing inconsistent behavior. This fix ensures that the event is reliably fired regardless of where the mouse is released, improving form handling for multiple-select lists.
What HTML improvements does this version include?
Three HTML enhancements are featured. The closedby attribute on <dialog> elements is now supported, providing a standard way to specify which user interactions (such as pressing Escape or clicking outside) can close a dialog. Additionally, the HTML parser fast path has been improved in three ways: it now correctly processes escaped attribute values longer than one character, accurately detects nested <li> elements, and uses the adjusted current node for MathML and SVG integration point checks. These parser fixes ensure more reliable rendering of complex HTML documents.
What image-related bug was addressed?
This release fixes an issue where inserting an image with a srcset attribute into a document could cause a problem. The exact circumstances of the bug are not detailed, but the resolution ensures that images with responsive source sets (using srcset) are inserted and displayed correctly. This improves image handling for modern responsive design scenarios.