Apple: Safari 4 is three times faster than Firefox

Short on holiday time? This Safari is quicker than ever
Short on holiday time? This Safari is quicker than ever

Apple today announced that Safari 4 is out of beta, calling it "the world's fastest and most innovative browser".

In speed terms, Safari 4's new Nitro engine runs JavaScript up to 4.5 times faster than Safari 3, making it nearly eight times faster than Internet Explorer 8 and over four times faster than Firefox 3.

It's zippier with pure HTML too, according to Apple CEO Phil Schiller, loading pages more than three times faster than IE 8 and three times faster than Firefox.

Future-proofed features

The new Safari has been optimised for the latest dynamic web pages, which means it plays well with HTML 5 support for offline features and supports CSS Effects. It should be the first browser to pass the Web Standards Project's Acid3 test, featuring an alphabet soup of web technologies.

Safari brings an iTunes-style Cover Flow interface to navigate web history or bookmarks, plus Top Sites, a visual preview of frequently visited and favourite pages. Other new features include auto-completing fields and a zoom function.

Safari will also run as a 64-bit application in Snow Leopard, getting another 50 per cent speed boost on Javascript pages, and suffering less crashes by running plug-in apps as a separate process.

Safari 4 is available now for Mac and Windows, from www.apple.com/safari.

TOPICS
Latest in Firefox
A couple sitting looking happy watching a video on a laptop
Firefox 126 is out – and it’ll make a huge difference to the quality of videos in the browser, for those with the right hardware
a firefox menu
Mozilla wants Pocket users to switch to Firefox accounts, which may not be a bad thing
a person flexing their muscles, with the firefox logo covering their head
Mozilla's Responsible AI Challenge won by tech that protects images from AI
Firefox logo on a macOS taskbar next to photos and Apple music
Firefox might one day be able to detect fake reviews written by ChatGPT
Firefox
I've started using Mozilla Firefox and now I can never go back to Google Chrome
Firefox logo on colorful background
Firefox version 100 is here - is it finally time to switch from Google Chrome?
Latest in News
Image showing detail of the Leica D-Lux 8
Still can't get a Fujifilm X100VI? This premium Leica compact costs less, and it's in stock
Man using iMessage on an iPhone
Apple will finally enable encrypted RCS messages between iOS and Android, and it's about time
Jason Sudeikis' Ted Lasso pointing at someone in Ted Lasso season 2
Believe it, baby: Ted Lasso season 4 is officially in development for Apple TV+ and Jason Sudeikis will reprise his role as the titular soccer coach
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #1146)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #377)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, March 15 (game #643)