Is Safari the next Internet Explorer?

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) once dominated the browser market, peaking at around 95% market share in 2004, but it became notorious for causing challenges for web developers due to its exclusive bugs and slow adoption of web standards. As Microsoft transitioned to Edge, support for IE dwindled, with updates for IE 11 continuing only throughout Windows 10's lifespan, and strategies like redirecting certain sites to Edge were implemented to phase out IE. Comparisons of Safari to IE highlight some similarities, such as Safari's significant presence on iOS due to the exclusive use of its WebKit engine; however, Safari holds only about 19% of the total browser market, far less than IE's past dominance. Safari's updates are tied to free OS updates, mitigating issues related to outdated versions, unlike Windows' past paid update model. Although Safari has been criticized for slower bug fixes and feature support compared to other modern browsers, it has adopted many industry standards, and the development challenges with Safari do not parallel the previous struggles with IE. Overall, while Safari presents its own set of challenges, it doesn't reach the problematic legacy of IE, and the current landscape of browser competition and resources makes cross-browser compatibility more manageable for developers.