Do I still need to test rendering in both Chrome and Safari if they both use Webkit?

Question

Is it necessary to test the rendering of my website in both Chrome and Safari despite the fact that both browsers implement the Webkit rendering engine underneath?

Is this a cop out by developers or a valid assumption to make?

I am specifically asking about whether the pages of my website will render the same in both browsers and whether my Javascript will work in both browsers.

Answer 1

There are some slight differences, so I would test in both. Some examples:

• By default Safari has 3rd-party cookies disabled, but Chrome has them enabled by default.
• Safari does not store <noscript> content in the DOM, Chrome does
• Chrome keeps each browser window sandboxed in its own operating system process (multi-process model). Safari keeps all windows in one process. [Note though: The upcoming WebKit2 will have support for the multi-process model built in].
• Chrome uses the V8 javascript engine, Safari uses Nitro.

I know there a few other differences I have encountered, but I can't remember them off the top of my head. I'll update this post if any occur to me.