The "brick" layout creates rows, yes. When a regular person looks at it, they will see rows. But Grid Lanes flows content up and down, not across the row.
If you just want content to flow down one row, then the next, then the next, Flexbox is a better solution.
The whole point of masonry layout is that content flows perpendicular to the lane.
It didn’t go away — it moved. You can disable JS per website in Web Inspector. That way you can disable JS from the site you are building, while being able to use Safari with JS to look things up on other websites.
You are correct that <div `role=search`> functions the same way that <search> does. But the search element includes the proper support for accessibility by default, where the ARIA role requires a developer to remember to use it.
Plus semantic HTML provides untold assistance for bots, to help them understand the web page — whether that's a search engine bot, machine learning, reader mode, translation engines, or any other computerized system looking to understand the page. Semantic HTML conveys more human meaning to the machines.
If there is a bug, we will fix it. Bugs can be reported at https://bugs.webkit.org. We would never intentionally prevent web technology from working when a site is added to the Home Screen and opened as a web app.
Style queries are the only thing he talked about that's Chrome-only, and Chrome hasn't even shipped them yet. They're only available in Chrome Canary behind a flag.
Firefox is working on shipping :has() and Container Queries.
Safari supports everything besides style queries. Many of these, Safari shipped first. More importantly, these days, browsers often ship new CSS around the same time.
Plus you can always use Feature Queries (@supports) to conditionally test for support and apply different CSS depending on what's supported. That way users who haven't updated their software in years have a great experience, too.
Also, in Safari you will not get spammed by requests for permission to send notifications. A website or web app can only ask for permission _after_ you've indicated interest with a gesture — like clicking on a "subscribe" bell icon, or a button that says "notify me". They are not allowed to ask you until you've taken the first step.
If you just want content to flow down one row, then the next, then the next, Flexbox is a better solution.
The whole point of masonry layout is that content flows perpendicular to the lane.