Apple's Safari web browser is reportedly getting a major upgrade and could soon sport artificial intelligence (AI)-powered features. Earlier this month, a report claimed that Safari could be one of the first Apple apps to get AI features. Now, another report has stated that the company is currently running internal tests on multiple new features for the Safari 18 build that will come with iOS 18 and macOS 15. Additionally, the tech giant is also said to be working on a system-wide visual lookup feature.
According to a report by AppleInsider, the next update to Safari could come with a minor interface revamp, features to summarise articles, blocking content on a web page, and even an AI-powered assistant. Citing unnamed people familiar with the development, the report stated that Apple is currently evaluating the performance and viability of these features. The publication also shared images of the features.
Safari browser's new features
The most notable feature mentioned in the report is Intelligent Search. The feature is said to draw on Apple's on-device AI technology, specifically the language-learning model Ajax, to summarise web pages and articles. Based on the examples shared, the AI feature summarises the text in topic headlines and small paragraphs describing the topics. Notably, similar features are also offered by Google with its Gemini AI and Microsoft's Copilot. It is not known whether the Intelligent Assistant will also offer other features such as text generation.
Safari browser's article summarisation feature
Photo Credit: AppleInsider
Another AI-powered feature Apple is working on for its Safari 18 browser is being called Web Eraser, as per the report. This is a content-blocking tool that can remove any element from a web page. The tool can be used to delete banner ads, images, and even text from a page. It is said that the Safari browser remembers the elements removed by a user even when the session is over. Opening the same page next time automatically adds the same effect and gives the option to revert to the unblocked view.
Safari's web eraser feature
Photo Credit: AppleInsider
Apart from these, the browser is also getting a minor interface change. A new page controls menu is reportedly being added to the address bar. This menu will contain the options to activate the above mentioned features as well as include various other tools that are currently spread across different menus in Safari. Based on the screenshot, it also features the ‘Aa' option and the zoom feature. Notably, the new Safari browser's interface is being kept the same in both iOS 18 and macOS 15 versions, suggesting that the tech giant might be unifying the browser experience across both devices.
Safari browser's new controls page
Photo Credit: AppleInsider
Finally, the report highlighted that Apple is working on an enhancement to its visual lookup feature which currently exists within the Photos app and identifies plants, pets and landmarks from photos. The report claims Apple is trying to make this feature system-wide so it works on any screen including the web pages of Safari. The under-development enhancement is said to be powered by AI.
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