Apple has partnered with Google, Microsoft and Mozilla in a new initiative to improve the interoperability and user experience of their web browsers.

The group is working on a new benchmark called Interop 2022, which will “improve the development experience for the web in 15 key areas.” In addition to browser manufacturers, the software consulting groups Bocoup and Igalia are also involved.

The four browser makers have agreed to focus on the 15 areas, which will include cascading layers, CSS color spaces and color features, new viewport units, scrolling, and more. The project will focus on the four browsers concerned: Safari, Chrome, Edge and Firefox.

“For the first time ever, all major browser vendors and other stakeholders have come together to address major browser compatibility issues identified by web developers,” the group said in a blog post.

The end goal is to make web applications look and work similarly across different web browsers, which is currently not the case. The goals are also all design-focused, meaning there’s an incentive for sailors to participate alongside their rivals.

“All of these technologies are important to Apple and to everyone working on WebKit. We care deeply about the health of the web and interoperable implementations of web standards,” Apple said in a statement. “We welcome working with our colleagues at the many web standards organizations and Interop 2022 to make the web as interoperable as possible.”

This isn’t the first time browser makers have teamed up in a similar effort. In 2021, they also partnered on a project called Combat 2021, which “has made great strides.” However, Interop 2022 blog posts noted that there was “still room for improvement”.

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