These search terms crash the Apple browser

The Safari browser causes problems on iPhones and iPads. When searching for certain terms on Google, the browser crashes. The affected strings appear to all be related to shopping. Apple has already addressed the problem.

iPhone: Safari browser crashes on Google search

Some iPhone and iPad owners are just wondering Safari crashes. The Apple browser says goodbye when certain character strings are entered into Google. At first there seemed to be no connection between the letter sequences themselves, but apparently they are all related to American retailer names (source: AppleInsider).

Users report that Safari crashes when for example “tar”, “bes” or “wal” entered (Target, Best Buy, Walmart). The problem occurs not only with users of iOS 16, but also with the previous generation iOS 15. Since not all owners of iPhones and iPads are affected, a server-side problem can be assumed.

So far, apparently Only US users are affected by the issue. There are no reports from other countries. Users can bypass the crashes by not entering search terms into Safari, but instead navigating to Google and starting the search there. Alternatively, the automatic search suggestions can also be deactivated in the settings of the Safari app.

In the video: This is new in iOS 16.

Safari crashes: Apple knows the problem

Apple itself has not yet commented on the problem. However, some affected users already state that to have been contacted by Applefor more information. Others say they no longer see Safari crashing. So it could well be that Apple has already solved the problem.