Apple Unveils Safari 4 Browser

Apple released the first beta version of its new Safari 4 browser yesterday, bringing with it a number of significant additions and improvements. From a visual perspective, the browser appears to have taken a cue from Opera's Speed Dial and add-ons such as Firefox Showcase and FoxTab with its Top Sites feature which groups thumbnails of your favorite websites in one location. Keeping with the preview theme, revamped Bookmarks and History components make use of the company's Cover Flow functionality by letting you sift through actual full-page images of your favorites and previously visited sites.

Nitro, the browser's new JavaScript engine, takes execution speeds to the next level. Benchmark tests cited by Apple have Safari 4 performing up to 30 times faster than IE7 and more than 3 times faster than Firefox 3, while About's Tom Nelson clocked his own rather impressive results.

From a development perspective, a bevy of tools are included to assist with quick testing and debugging from within the browser window itself. Safari 4 Beta is available on both the Windows and Mac platforms and can be downloaded from Apple's official site. Keep in mind that this is a beta version, and therefore subject to being unstable at times, so proceed with caution.

Safari 4 for Windows - A Visual Walkthrough

Safari 4 for Mac - A Visual Walkthrough(Photo © Scott Orgera)