Safari - how Apple built the engine that powers almost every modern web browser

Safari is one of Apple’s most enduring and popular apps, with versions running on Mac, iPhone, iPad, and even Vision Pro. But it wasn’t always the behemoth we know today.

When it launched in 2003, Safari faced fierce competition from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, a bruiser of a browser with over 95% market share. Safari didn’t seem to stand a chance. And yet, just twelve years later, Microsoft gave up the fight, scrapping Internet Explorer in favor of Edge, a new app based on code borrowed from Safari. 

So, how did Safari deliver this knock-out blow? In this episode we go back to an era when Apple championed standards, interoperability, and open source. We’ll learn why Steve Jobs argued passionately against proprietary platforms. And we’ll discover how Apple handed its crown jewels over to a bitter rival.

This is a David versus Goliath story of a plucky little web browser that went on to conquer the world.

LINKS

Full video of MacWorld SF 2003, where Steve Jobs introduced the first Safari beta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTF9wnTPpK0

Don Melton, former director of internet technologies at Apple, explains how Safari got it’s name.
https://donmelton.com/2012/12/19/when-i-first-heard-the-name-safari/

Clip of Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2007, where Steve Jobs introduces Safari for Windows.
https://www.cnet.com/videos/steve-jobs-announces-safari-for-windows/

Webkit.org
https://webkit.org