Apple Unveils Safari 5; Adds HTML5 Support, Extension Gallery
Apple has unveiled Safari 5, touting a few upgraded features and a shiny new extension gallery. Bug fixes, a streamlined viewer experience and Bing search are among the primary areas of improvement.
Nothing drastically changed from previous Safari renditions, but Apple may be further alienating display marketers with its new Reader. An option to ditch ads from online publications (Safari will detect when you’re reading an online article) clears the clutter, but takes another swipe at advertisers already miffed by Apple’s battles against Flash.
Increased HTML5 support may sooth some of those soured, including video enhancements and default geo-location standards. Safari’s new extension gallery will also reap the benefits of the added HTML5 support–you’ll find a few of the featured add-ons have HTML5 perks.
The inclusion of Bing search is another known update with Safari 5’s release, opening one of the planned portals for the widespread distribution of Microsoft’s search engine. After Yahoo Japan announced Google as its new search alliance instead of Bing, its presence on Apple devices won’t hurt.
The updates for Safari come after gains from competing browsers; Firefox and Chrome have both seen notable growth in the past six months. An increase in scheduled updates for both Firefox and Chrome has raised expectations around browser usability and navigation, though Firefox is already getting behind. A sneak peek at the upcoming Firefox 4 tab candy shows Mozilla’s desire to change more than just our viewing experience of the web.
Since you’re here …
… We’d like to tell you about our mission and how you can help us fulfill it. SiliconANGLE Media Inc.’s business model is based on the intrinsic value of the content, not advertising. Unlike many online publications, we don’t have a paywall or run banner advertising, because we want to keep our journalism open, without influence or the need to chase traffic.The journalism, reporting and commentary on SiliconANGLE — along with live, unscripted video from our Silicon Valley studio and globe-trotting video teams at theCUBE — take a lot of hard work, time and money. Keeping the quality high requires the support of sponsors who are aligned with our vision of ad-free journalism content.
If you like the reporting, video interviews and other ad-free content here, please take a moment to check out a sample of the video content supported by our sponsors, tweet your support, and keep coming back to SiliconANGLE.
