At the present time, the Mac has a small market share, but this is maintained over time, unlike what happens with Windows computers, which abandon this system for phones or tablets. The downside to the Mac share is the proliferation of malware, now that they can capture relevant information.
In this sense, operating systems like macOS are closed as much as possible to prevent the entry of intruders. One of the latest measures has been the abandoning old Safari extensions, those with the extension .safariextz
We know the news through the latest update of Safari Technology Preview It does not support historical Safari extensions. As of today these extensions are still available in the Safari extensions gallery, but they will soon be unavailable and will not be usable in future versions of Safari. This confirms Apple's announcement in the 2018 WWDC where did you anticipate that these extensions would no longer be available.
In fact, the developers They cannot send extensions since last January 1. What it is unknown when Removal of old Safari extensions will apply, if this will take effect in the next Mojave update or they leave it for macOS 10.15, with a new version of Safari removing them.
Apple is asking developers to adapt their extensions to the premises introduced in OS X El Capitan, for various reasons: Extensions are more app-related in the first place, but it also brings more benefits like easier installation. In many cases, the extension is included in the application itself, making easier the process and the interpellation between application and extension.
The downside is the necessary inclusion of extensions in the Mac App Store. This conditions the work of some developers who for different reasons do not want to host the application in the Apple store. Apple acts differently from other browsers that increasingly allow the interaction of extensions from other services. We understand that Apple's decision is based on the security provided by having a controlled extension within the store. We will see where the market is heading in the coming months and years.
