New Features Coming to Safari with iOS 18

This year's update to iOS is bringing some exciting new features to Safari, and we're excited to dive right in and explore them.

The Biggest Change: The New Page Menu

One of the most significant changes coming to Safari is a new page menu that can be accessed by tapping on this button located on the left side of the address bar. This menu offers a more streamlined and visually appealing way to interact with your web pages. On top, you'll find options for Hide Distracting Items, which allows you to remove any pop-ups or ads that are interfering with your viewing experience. Below this option, you'll have access to Turn Off Content Blockers and Reduce Privacy Protections, both of which can be used to reload the page with these features disabled. If you have any Safari extensions installed, you'll also see those listed in the middle section of the menu.

In addition to these options, the new page menu will also feature a range of additional tools and features that make it easier to customize your browsing experience. You'll be able to adjust the text size of the content on the page, as well as search for specific words or phrases within the page using the "Find On Page" option. The "More" button provides access to even more advanced features, including the ability to request the desktop version of a site, print it out, customize website-specific settings for permissions, add it to your favorites or bookmarks, and reading list. All of these features are also available in the share sheet, but the new page menu offers more flexibility and customization options.

One of the most exciting aspects of the new page menu is its ability to help you avoid distracting ads and pop-ups. With the introduction of the Hide Distracting Items feature, you'll be able to tap on any annoying element on your screen and instantly remove it from view. Simply tap on the thing you don't like, then select "Hide" and watch as it fades away into obscurity. You can even tap the "Done" button to return to a distraction-free browsing experience.

Another feature that's worth noting is the sparkle icon that occasionally appears in the top section of the page menu. At first glance, this might seem like a decorative element, but it actually serves an important purpose. When you see this sparkle icon, it indicates that there are information highlights available for the page you're currently viewing. This can include things like operating hours for restaurants or businesses, quick biographies for famous historical figures, and even links to listen to music from emerging artists.

If you find yourself on a website with one of these features, simply tap on the sparkle icon to activate it. You'll then be able to access all sorts of useful information and tools right within the page itself. For example, if you're reading an article about a new restaurant, you might see a link to their operating hours, as well as directions to the location using Apple Maps.

Reader Mode: A New Way to Read Articles

One of the most exciting features coming to Safari is Reader mode, which can be accessed by tapping and holding on the page menu. When you activate Reader mode, you'll notice that some articles may have a summary option available at the top of the page. This feature uses natural language processing algorithms to provide a brief summary of the main points or thesis of the article.

Unfortunately, this summary feature isn't powered by Apple Intelligence, so it won't be available on all devices running iOS 18. However, that's not a major issue, as you'll still be able to access a table of contents for the article, which can help you navigate the content more easily.

To enable the table of contents, simply tap and hold on the page menu until the options appear. You'll then see a list of headings and sections within the article, which you can use to jump directly to any part of the content that interests you. This feature is a great time-saver, especially when reading long articles.

Finally, another exciting feature coming to Safari is the ability to lock any app behind Face ID or Touch ID. If someone were to steal your phone and gain access to your browser tabs or history, this feature would prevent them from doing so. All you need to do is tap and hold on any icon on your home screen until you see the "Lock" option appear. From there, simply select Safari and watch as it's locked in place.

This new feature offers a high level of security and peace of mind, especially when it comes to protecting your personal data online. With iOS 18, you can rest easy knowing that your browsing experience is secure and private.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enThis year, iOS 18 is bringing five awesome new features to Safari. Let's jump right in.The biggest change is a new page menu that you can find by tapping this button on the left of the address bar.It's much more simple and visually laid out. On the top you have options for Hide Distracting Itemsif a pop-up is preventing you from seeing the content of the page — more on that later. Below you have options forTurn Off Content Blockers and Reduce Privacy Protections that will reload the page with those featuresdisabled in case they're interfering with how the page is supposed to work. And if you have any Safari extensions installedyou'll see those in the middle. Along the bottom, from left to right, Find On Page will let you search for text specifically on the page.Text Size will make the entire content of the page bigger or smaller and the More button is an additional junk drawer of features.You can request the desktop version of the site, print it, customize website-specific settings for permissions,add it to your favorites or bookmarks or reading list.All of these features are also in the share sheet as well, but here in the page menuyou can customize the order and add your favorites for quicker access. Number two, the modern web is sadly full ofirritating banners and pop-ups begging you to subscribe to newsletters,auto-playing videos you don't want to watch. If you install an ad blocker to restore some degree of sanity,like my personal favorites Vinegar and AdGuard,suddenly you start getting pop-ups begging you to turn off your ad blocker.Well, the new Hide Distracting Items feature is here to the rescue. Find it in the page menu.All you have to do is tap on the thing you don't like and tap Hide and it'll fade away into dust like Thanoshimself has snapped away half of the modern web, but only the irritating half.Tap the Done button and you can read your web page indistraction-free bliss. Number three, occasionally the page menu will have a sparkle icon on it.Despite what you might think, that doesn't indicate that the page menu is lemony fresh and clean, it instead tells you thatinformation highlights are available for the page you're on. If you're on a website for a restaurant or business or a hotel,you'll have a widget on the top that shows you their operating hours, their cost,and you can tap on it to get instant directions in Apple Maps. If you're on a page that talks about a famous historical figure,you'll see a quick biography and you can tap to open it in Wikipedia.Or if you're reading an article about a new musical artist or album or song,you'll have an embedded widget that you can open in Apple Music and listen right away.Number four, if you're reading an article, you can tap and hold on the page menu to jump directly into Reader mode,where you'll discover two great new features. If it's a big long article and you don't have time to read the whole thing,you can tap on the summary. It'll summarize the main points or the thesis of the article for you.This particular summary feature isn't powered by Apple Intelligence,so you can get it on all devices running iOS 18.Second, if the article is properly formatted with subheadings and sections, you'll find an automatically generated table of contents.Tap to expand the list and tap to jump directly to the section you want to read. Both of these features are great time savers.Finally, number five, another great feature of iOS 18 is the ability to lock any app behind Face ID,or on an older device, Touch ID. In the case of Safari, if someone steals your phone,this can prevent them from getting into your browser tabs or your browser history.It's really easy. Just tap and hold on any icon on your home screen and tap \"Require Face ID.\"You'll get a pop-up explaining how it works. It'll scan your face, and if that's successful, the app will be locked.Any time you tap on the icon on your home screen or switch to it from the app switcher,it'll first have to scan your face. And if that's unsuccessful, you can still enter in your passcode as well.If you ever want to turn this off, it's just as easy. From the home screen, tap and hold on the icon and tap\"Don't Require Face ID.\"It'll do one last scan, and then it'll be free. If you want to learn more about this feature,including the ability to hide an app from your phone, I wrote a full article about it that you can find here.Remember to like and subscribe so you see more great iOS 18 features and tips. I'm D. Griffin Jones with Cult of Mac.\n"