You'll be able to stream 4K HDR Netflix in Safari on macOS 11 Big Sur

Netflix gift card (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

People testing macOS 11 Big Sur report interesting Safar goings-on.
It seems the browser can now stream 4K content from Netflix.
And in HDR, no less.

Apple's macOS 11 Big Sur is currently available to developers as part of an early beta and we're learning all kinds of things about it. But one tidbit might just be the best news we've heard since YouTube on the Apple TV is going 4K – Safari will be able to stream 4K HDR content from Netflix.

Right now anyone using Safari on a Mac is stuck with boring old SDR and 1080p which, in 2020, is just no fun at all. But according to Twitter and 9to5Mac, that's all changing.

Not only do we get 4K HDR, but it also supports Dolby Vision!

OMG! Netflix on macOS Big Sur's Safari browser just gave me 4K Stream with Dolby Vision on MacBook Pro! Earlier it was just 1080p with Dolby Vision. This is amazing. 😌 pic.twitter.com/afUQPeKisIOMG! Netflix on macOS Big Sur's Safari browser just gave me 4K Stream with Dolby Vision on MacBook Pro! Earlier it was just 1080p with Dolby Vision. This is amazing. 😌 pic.twitter.com/afUQPeKisI— Ishan Agarwal (@ishanagarwal24) June 28, 2020 June 28, 2020

Of course, you're going to need to wait for macOS 11 Big Sur to arrive later this year if you don't want to install any betas right now. And you shouldn't do that, to be clear. But if you did, in the name of science? You'd get all that 4K HDR hotness in Safari for the very first time.

How cool is that?

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.