Apple introduces Safari 5

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Apple launched its Safari 5 browser this week, bringing with it a new feature that removes distractions such as advertisements from web articles.

On the same day of the iPhone unveiling, Apple released details about its updated browser, including information on Safari Reader, which detects when the user is viewing an article online.

Once the web surfer has clicked on the Reader icon located in Safari 5’s address field, the so-called “clutter” is removed for a more concentrated reading experience. Users can also alter the size of the text – something that Safari will remember for the next time an article is viewed.

After launching a website promoting HTML5 earlier this month, Apple revealed that Safari 5 has even greater support for the web video standard and that there is no need for third-party plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash.

“Safari continues to lead the pack in performance, innovation and standards support,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide product marketing, in a statement.

“Safari now runs on over 200 million devices worldwide and its open source WebKit engine runs on over 500 million devices,” Schiller claimed.

Apple has also promised improved location services, with support for the HTML5 geolocation standard in Safari 5. This allows people to share their location with websites, which will then provide useful information such as the nearest hospital or post office.

Performance has also been boosted as the Cupertino company has made advancements to the Nitro Engine. On Mac systems, Apple claimed that Safari 5 can run JavaScript 30 per cent faster than the browser’s predecessor, three per cent quicker than Google Chrome and more than twice as fast as Mozilla’s Firefox 3.6.

As part of the Safari developer programme, web developers using Safari 5 can now add extensions, such as buttons for the toolbar or controls to web pages. Users will then be able to share their Safari Extensions work in a Safari Extensions Gallery later this summer.

Safari 5 is available now to download for free on Mac and Windows.

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