If Safari is your go-to Internet browser, you might want to consider getting that OS X Yosemite update that was released last Thursday. The new Safari 8 is noticeably faster than its predecessors, according to new data, and the update has added several handy user interface upgrades as well.
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During Apple's presentation last week, the company made a point to say that Safari 8, the update that comes with OS X Yosemite, is faster than ever, and a report published over at CNET this morning seems to support that. The report includes many different tests to see which popular browser is the fastest. The results aren't the most conclusive. Some tests have Safari 8 winning handily; others have browsers like Chrome or Firefox edging out Apple's browser. Most of the tests, however, seem to agree that Safari 8 has received a noticeable speed upgrade from Safari 7.
Browser speed is certainly an important statistic, but it's not always the most apparent in an age where web pages can be built in fractions of a second. But Safari 8 also adds some user interface upgrades that make a user's browsing experience smoother in a tangible way. For tab addicts who often find themselves juggling dozens of browser tabs at once, Safari 8 added a slick tab view button in the window's upper right corner. The function lets a user see all of the tabs he or she has open in a clean format similar to a Mac's task view function.
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Safari 8 also added Spotlight suggestions to the address bar. As you start typing something you're searching for, Safari's address bar will not only give you auto-fill options for a Google search, but it'll also give you suggestions for relevant pages on sites like Wikipedia, taking the middle man out of your search process.
Finally, Apple bragged back at last week's event that Safari 8 was more energy efficient than previous browsers, claiming that users can enjoy up to two additional hours of web surfing on Safari.
OS X Yosemite is now available as a free update on the App Store.
