Apple Adds AV1 Codec support in Safari Beta Version

Safari 16.4 beta browser get updated to support AV1 codec.

Modern APUs and GPUs already support decoding of the latest royalty-free formats such as AV1. Moreover, streaming and recording services are also starting to implement AV1 support for their platforms. The only company that made no progress on this front is Apple, whose M1 and M2 silicon chip families do not have hardware acceleration for AV1 codec whatsoever.

Safari 16.4 AV1 format
Source: Apple

Things are going to change as Apple Safari Browser 16.4 Beta Test version now lists the AV1-coded for its MediaCapabilities API and WebRTC AV1 hardware decoding. However, the update changelog notes that these features are only compatible with devices that possess such capabilities, but there is currently no modern apple product with this capability. In addition, the Windows version of Safari stopped updating in 2012, so this reduces the number of supported devices.

Apple is now preparing for AV1 support for future A17 or M3 chips. Apple will join the ranks of AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. . It is worth noting all these manufacturers have supported AV1 decoding, and newer GPU display cards support stronger encoding as well.

YouTube has shifted almost all of its SD content to the AV1 format which gives them enormous savings in terms of bandwidth. It’s indeed the future until something better comes along. It would be great to see hardware manufacturers like Apple also trying to push this open codec instead of a more closed alternative like HEVC.

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Apple Adds AV1 Codec support in Safari Beta Version

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