Is there a specific reason why this has to be a OS update thing? I know that it's likely that they don't update the emoji font outside major OS updates so people have an extra reason to update.
> Is there a specific reason why this has to be a OS update thing?
The way Apple does it, it's cleaner to implement the APIs for this sort of thing in a new operating system version, especially if it requires features not present in the current versions of the operating system.
They could make an exception for Safari by including the required code to support JPEG XL in Safari Technology Preview on Ventura to allow developers to test their sites and web apps until macOS, iOS, etc. ship in the fall.
It doesn’t have to be, but Apple has generally deferred new functionality to major versions, especially since they moved to an annual release cadence. There have also been a few exceptions since then, but they’re usually headline features which were supposed to bolster the major release but fell behind schedule.
The way Apple does it, it's cleaner to implement the APIs for this sort of thing in a new operating system version, especially if it requires features not present in the current versions of the operating system.
They could make an exception for Safari by including the required code to support JPEG XL in Safari Technology Preview on Ventura to allow developers to test their sites and web apps until macOS, iOS, etc. ship in the fall.
I suspect we'll learn what the plan is as the Safari/WebKit team make more announcements during WWDC: https://www.webkit.org/blog/14203/web-technology-sessions-at...