Progress Delayed Is Progress Denied - Infrequently Noted

Apple’s iOS browser (Safari) and engine (WebKit) are uniquely under-powered. Consistent delays in delivery of important features ensure the web can never be a credible alternative to its proprietary tools and App Store.

Heckuva leading assertion from Alex, but he brings some serious data to back it up, including some pretty compelling results from the Web Platform Tests.

There’s a lot of criticism levied at Chrome and how they move through the standards process (or don’t). Some of that criticism is fair, some of it isn’t.

But it’s pretty clear, I think, that we have a mismatch of resources creating an imbalance. On the one hand, we have Google funding the heck out of their web-focused efforts. On the other hand, we have Apple that just never seems willing to invest in it much.

The result isn’t particularly healthy for the web or for anyone who uses it. Alex’s point here rings true:

It’s perverse that users and developers everywhere pay a subsidy for Apple’s under-funding of Safari/WebKit development.