Apple claims Safari loads web pages up to 1.9 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2, with JavaScript performance up to six times faster than other browsers. Safari 3.1 supports web standards intended for the next generation of interactive Web 2.0 applications and is available as a free download for Mac OS X and Windows.
“Safari 3.1 is extremely fast and easy to use, with an elegant interface,” says Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Philip Schiller. “Support for current audio, video and animation standards provides a strong Web 2.0 experience.”
Safari 3.1 includes drag-and-drop bookmarks, tabs, integrated search showing every match within a page, and an RSS reader.
The browser supports HTML5 video and audio elements, CSS animations and CSS Web Fonts for expanded typographic control.
Pricing and availability
Safari 3.1 is available immediately as a free download for Mac OS X and Windows. Safari updates are delivered through Apple’s Software Update application, which checks automatically for available updates.
The Mac version requires Mac OS X Leopard or Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger and at least 256 MB of RAM. It runs on Macs with Intel, PowerPC G5, G4 or G3 processors and built-in FireWire. The Windows version requires Windows XP or Vista, at least 256 MB of RAM and a system with an Intel Pentium processor running at 500 MHz or faster.
