Apple Releases Safari 5…with Extensions!

Well this is a pleasant surprise. According to Mac Stories, Safari 5 is now available in Software Update (or will be very shortly). The update is the new release that many expected to be announced at WWDC.

According to the press release (which has now been pulled by PR Newswire), it features an improved Javascript engine (30% faster than Chrome), Safari Reader (similar to Instapaper), improved HTML5 support and…extensions!

Extensions

With Safari 5, Apple has introduced the Safari Developer Program to give developers the opportunity to create Safari Extensions to customize and enhance the browsing experience.

This is a feature many believed Apple would stay clear from but with the success of Chrome’s extension program, Safari needs it to remain relevant. Apple says that Safari Extensions are sandboxed, signed with a digital certificate from Apple and run solely in the browser.

Javascript Engine

Powered by the Nitro JavaScript engine, Safari 5 on the Mac runs JavaScript 30 percent faster than Safari 4, three percent faster than Chrome 5.0, and over twice as fast as Firefox 3.6. Safari 5 loads new webpages faster using Domain Name System (DNS) prefetching, and improves the caching of previously viewed pages to return to them more quickly.

Safari Reader

The other notable inclusion is Safari Reader “making it easy to read single and multipage articles on the web by presenting them in a new, scrollable view without any additional content or clutter. When Safari 5 detects an article, users can click on the Reader icon in the Smart Address Field to display the entire article for clear, uninterrupted reading with options to enlarge, print or send via email.”

Full Text History Search

I’ve been waiting for this one. Safari 5 brings full text history search so if you skip past a page but remember just a couple of words, with this feature you should be able to revisit it in no time.

Update 1:

If the update hasn’t arrived in your software update, give it time. It’s likely propagating. It should definitely be out now!

Update 2:

The press release announcing the update has now been deleted by PR Newswire. We can only assume that it was released just a little too early and the release is just around the corner. (Update: It’s out! Check software update)