It saves electricity to play streaming content. Apple adds Managed Media Source API to Safari browser 17.1 for iOS.

CTOnews.com October 27 news, Apple recently pushed iOS 17.1 update, this update brings Safari browser version 17.1, and for iPhone users added Managed Media Source API.

It is reported that the Managed Media Source API is a streaming video codec launched by Apple, which can improve Safari browser's endurance performance when playing streaming video and save network bandwidth. The relevant API has been launched in macOS and iPad before.

▲ Although it is not difficult for modern mobile phones to encode and decode streaming media video, it is not easy for mobile phones to play high-quality movies under the premise of "not downloading too much data" and "not consuming too much power." At present, the industry mainly uses "Adaptive Bitrate Streaming (ABS)" technology to achieve this goal, which dynamically switches audio and video formats according to user bandwidth and equipment performance.

CTOnews.com Note: The industry currently uses an API called Media Source Extensions (MSE) to implement "adaptive bit rate transmission," but Apple believes that the "Media Source Extensions"API consumes a lot of power, resulting in reduced battery life for smaller devices.

Therefore, Apple introduced the Managed Media Source API in WWDC23 as a complementary solution to the Media Source Extension API.

The Managed Media Source API gives control to the browser, which can more fully control the performance of streaming media playback, make detailed judgments on device RAM and network bandwidth, and make devices more efficient when streaming media content.