Not to be outdone by the release of Opera 9.5 and Firefox 3, Apple has given developers a sneak peek at the next version of its Safari web browser. Safari 4 will offer the ability to save a webpage as an application and adds new options for window and tab behavior.
Safari 4 is also the first version to pass the ACID 3 browser rendering test and is reportedly much faster than its predecessors (partially due to the new JavaScript rendering engine we looked at earlier).
The ability to save a webpage as a standalone app pretty much mimics Mozilla’s Prism application and eliminates the need for third-party apps like Fluid (though if you want that feature today, Fluid is a good way to get it).
Safari 4 also introduces a new preference to specify whether new tabs or windows open with your homepage, the same page, empty page or bookmarks.
There are some other small changes as well, but primarily under-the-hood stuff in WebKit, the engine that powers Safari. So far Apple hasn’t hinted at a timeline for Safari 4, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted.
[via World of Apple]
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