When Safari Added Hardware AV1 Support on Apple Silicon

Apple officially added hardware-accelerated AV1 decoding support to the Safari web browser in September 2023 with the release of Safari 17. However, because hardware acceleration requires a dedicated physical media engine, this feature was only enabled on Apple silicon devices featuring the A17 Pro chip and the M3 family of chips or newer. This article covers the exact rollout timeline, the specific Apple silicon hardware requirements, and the performance benefits of AV1 in Safari.

The Rollout Timeline

The introduction of AV1 hardware decoding in Safari happened in two main phases in late 2023, aligning with Apple's hardware releases:

  • September 2023 (Safari 17 and A17 Pro): Apple released Safari 17 alongside iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. This browser update included the software support necessary for AV1. The first Apple silicon devices to utilize it were the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, which launched in September 2023 with the A17 Pro chip.
  • November 2023 (M3 Mac Lineup): For Mac users, hardware-accelerated AV1 support in Safari became a reality in early November 2023 when Apple shipped the first MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max chips.
  • May 2024 (M4 iPad Pro): Support expanded to the iPad lineup with the release of the M4 iPad Pro, which also includes the updated media engine.

Apple Silicon Hardware Requirements

Simply updating to Safari 17 or later does not guarantee AV1 support on all Apple silicon devices. Apple chose not to implement software-based AV1 decoding in Safari, meaning the browser relies entirely on the chip's physical media engine.

To use AV1 in Safari, you must have a device with one of the following chips (or newer generations):

  • A17 Pro
  • M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max
  • M4

Devices running on older Apple silicon—specifically the M1 and M2 chip families, as well as A16 Bionic chips and older—do not have the required hardware decoder. On these older devices, Safari simply falls back to older video codecs like HEVC (H.265) or VP9 when streaming video.

Why Hardware-Accelerated AV1 Matters

AV1 is an open, royalty-free video coding format designed for video transmissions over the internet. It offers significantly better compression than older codecs, meaning it can deliver higher-quality video (such as 4K and 8K streams) using less data.

By decoding the AV1 codec directly on the Apple silicon hardware rather than relying on the device's main CPU for software decoding, Safari achieves the following:

  • Better Battery Life: Playing AV1 videos on platforms like YouTube or Netflix consumes vastly less power.
  • Reduced Heat and Fan Noise: The CPU does not have to work as hard, keeping the device cool during long streaming sessions.
  • Smoother Playback: High-resolution videos load faster and play without dropped frames or stuttering.