Safari is getting a huge update with iOS 5, which will include a new Reading List for later reading of interesting articles, tabbed browsing (finally!) and Safari Reader for a distraction-free view of the webpage or article you're reading.
Reading List is a huge addition, letting users save an interesting article for later, much akin to Read It Later or Instapaper. Just tap the Reading List button and you're presented with all the articles you've recently saved.
Tabbed browsing is just how you'd expect it to be in Safari, with a look and feel the same as Safari on Mac OS X. This is a much-welcomed addition.
Safari Reader is a button you tap to clear all distractions and view the article in a text-only view with inline images. It's going to make reading on Safari painless, especially when you're on a site with a bunch of annoying and distracting ads.
We're looking forward to these additions in Safari for iOS 5 -- what about you?
[Image via Engadget]
Reader comments
Safari gets tabbed browsing, Safari Reader and Reading List in iOS 5
Who needs iPhone 5 with all these new features!!!! WOW!
I hope tabbed browsing isn't ipad-only. I want it on my iPhone so that I can ditch all the third party browsers
Dont we already have tabbed browsing ?
Honestly, all of those features should have been built into safari in the first place. Third party browsers have had most of those features for a long time.
As a full-featured, HTML5 browser, Mobile Safari came ahead of all the competition. However, Apple decided to use its own UI concepts, such as backing into a thumbnail-based system to view and select a page for view instead of using tabs. Partially, this was to maximize screen real estate for the iPhone. The iPad then adopted a similar UI to preserve familiarity. I think they brought back tabs reluctantly after seeing that most people were already used to them and preferred them to the simplified UI.
What I would like to see is for Safari's RSS feature to be available in iOS and sync with Safari on my Mac. Then I could go through the feeds on the bus, clean out what I want, send things I want to read later on the Reading List, and ditch Google Reader in the bargain!
I agree we should have RSS in safari. While I'm at it, we should also have the option to have the address book in the bookmarks as we do on the Mac - very handy. They havent quite kept it in par with the Mac. The new reminders app should also have a notes section for rack task like they do in iCal.