If Advertisements are a Bane for You, Safari Eclipses as the Top Browser on Mac's Beta Version
Dive into the fresh face of browsing with Safari 18's beta version, now equipped to slice through the jungle of advertisements on your favorite websites like a machete. Mac and iPad beta users can enjoy a pop-up and ad-free experience, even without employing an ad blocker, if they're currently on the most recent version of these devices.
Jump onto the Safari 18 and macOS/iPad OS 18 betas, available as of Monday. Once installed, you'll discover a button in the URL bar of any page. With this tool, Safari effortlessly identifies article-based websites and offers the option to transform the entire page into a clean, ad-free zone with the Reader format. Our own Gizmodo.com is no exception! Just click on the square icon in the URL bar, follow it with the "Show Reader" button.
Safari boasts several new features that elevate your reading experience further. To keep watching a video while surfing other tabs, simply tap the two right-facing arrows and opt for "Picture in Picture" mode. Watch the video in its own floating window, pausing or playing as required. Scheduled to be included is the "Highlights" feature, offering you relevant information such as directions, though it failed to appear in our test runs, even on the preview page.
Any original links found within the article will remain intact. Simply click on the button in the URL bar to switch the page color, font, or zoom level, or to access embedded videos or images. Reader performs this effortlessly, regardless of whether the site has a paywall or not.
Safari’s Reader mode is comparable to Firefox’s own Reader mode, but it excels in maintaining both featured and inline images more effectively. With Firefox, you'll occasionally encounter automated video players devoid of video content. Both browsers have limitations displaying text outside of regular paragraph format, such as boxes or pull quotes. However, Firefox can read the text aloud in its ultra-digitized Microsoft Sam tone, but only for articles.
Apple has plans for AI-generated summaries of articles in Reader mode, complete with table of contents, which will likely be available later this year. So far, Google and Arc Browser offer similar features. For now, Reader serves as an alternative method to navigate some portions of various sites' paywalls. Users will find that a substantial section of the text appears before the page is cut off by the paywall.
While it may not be the best way to access entirely blocked content, Safari 18 boasts a few other highlights. Using the same URL button, enable the Video Viewer if you're on a site with a video, such as YouTube.
Enrichment Data:
- Summary and Table of Contents: New features in Safari's Reader mode include a summary and table of contents, making navigation more convenient of relevant sections of an article[3].
- Distraction Control: As an ad-blocking alternative, Distraction Control can help reduce disturbing elements such as sign-in windows, cookie preference popups, GDPR notices, and autoplay videos[3].
- Improved Layout and Font Options: Enhanced layout and font options in Reader mode contribute to a more enjoyable reading experience, allowing users to tailor the look for better readability[1].
Enjoy these upgrades that create an uninterrupted, distraction-free reading space on Safari 18, offering a more seamless browsing experience.
- In the future, Apple is planning to integrate AI-generated summaries and a table of contents into Safari's Reader mode, enhancing the user's navigational experience.
- For tech enthusiasts using Safari 18, a new feature called Video Viewer allows you to watch videos smoothly on sites like YouTube, simply by enabling it with the URL button.
- The upcoming macOS and iPad OS 18 betas include the improved Safari 18, which enables users to transform article-based websites into ad-free zones using the Reader format, even without an ad blocker.
- Unfortunately, while reading an article on Safari's Reader mode, you might face challenges with automated video players without video content, similar to what Firefox users experience with this issue.
