Apple adds greater HTML5, extensions support

Apple in a low-key evening update unveiled Safari 5, its first major update to the browser in the year. The release, now available, is a major speed boost and runs JavaScript 30 percent faster than Safari 4; it's also about three percent faster than the just-finished Chrome 5.0. It also uses better caching and DNS prefetching to save more data and load pages faster.

Also new are a handful of important features: the release is the first to support extensions for growing the functionality beyond the core browser. Safari Extensions works on CSS, HTML5 and JavaScript. Developers get access to Extensions Builder, a tool that helps create and package add-ons. Apple claims a certain layer of security and requires that all extensions be signed, although it didn't say if it would have any review process like with the App Store.

Safari Reader is equally new and helps optimize content for viewing pages without distractions. Bing has been added as a third search option, and several HTML5 features have come onboard: geolocation, draggable items, Ruby and WebSocket are some of the options.

Apple is launching Safari 5 as a free download for Mac and Windows; it is available now.

By Electronista Staff