December 23, 2025
Safari or Sorry-fari?
Fifty problems with standard web APIs in 2025
Simple web game hits 50 snags; iOS roasted, Apple defended, devs scream
TLDR: A simple browser game ran into 50 cross-device problems, exposing how messy web standards still are. Commenters split between blaming iOS/Safari, defending Apple with home-screen tricks, and urging devs to support newer iPhones only—while many simply cheered from the sidelines that they don’t do web dev.
A developer tried to make a tiny text-based browser game and wound up with “50 problems” across devices. Cue the comment circus. The loudest chorus? Blame iOS and Safari. One commenter basically titled the thread “50 reasons to stop caring about iOS,” while others joked it’s the classic web dev tale: write once, fix everywhere. The post’s vibe—no fancy 3D, just clicks and reading—hit nerve after nerve, with veterans nodding and newbies clutching pearls at the idea that even 20-year-old web features still behave like gremlins.
Then came the Apple defenders. Terretta swooped in with the old-school trick: save the web app to the iPhone home screen to get full screen, insisting “bashing Apple… is nonsense,” reminding everyone Apple originally backed HTML5 to dethrone Flash. Pragmatists chimed in: stop supporting fossil phones—target iOS 16+ and you’ll dodge pain. Others blamed older iOS versions for dragging standards down. The peanut gallery added comic relief: “frontend druids” nursing browser trauma, memes about sacrificing a goat to Safari, and the evergreen “I’m so glad I don’t do web dev” mantra. Whether you think this is an Apple issue, a standards mess, or just reality in 2025, the comments turned a technical gripe into a full-blown browser reality show. Read the original post.
Key Points
- •A simple HTML5 single‑page mystery game was built to run without native install, using only static assets and basic interactions.
- •The developer encountered more than 50 cross‑browser and cross‑device issues, consuming over half of the project time in rework.
- •Problems were not limited to new APIs; some arose from decades‑old web features, undermining the idea of a “safe harbor.”
- •Frameworks and polyfills can address many pitfalls, but the article questions why a standard platform requires such workarounds.
- •The author plans to list issues, share advice to reduce rework, and assess what 2025 web standards reliably provide for interactive projects.