There are a number of great features in Safari and in
this guide you’ll discover Reading Lists, iCloud Tabs,
extensions and more.
As well as the more glamorous functions that were
added with iOS 8, there have been some new neat
improvements to Safari that make it easy to use
and share what you find on the web. For example, when
starting private browsing, instead of asking whether you want
to close all open pages or keep them, it simply opens a new,
private page. On the same privacy front, you have a choice of
search engines, including DuckDuckGo. Your privacy when
browsing the web can be further enhanced with the Privacy
section in Safari. You can tun off tracking, autofill and clear your
browsing history. One of the more bizarre new features is the
ability to scan credit/debit card numbers when checking out on
a retail site like Amazon.
Besides these quirky features, there are more advanced
elements like Reading Lists and being able to install extensions,
just like the desktop version of Safari. This feature will look at
the new tweaks and enhancements, then press on to the more
powerful functions to make you a Safari power user.
1: Intelligent search options
As soon as you start typing a web address, the
top hits based on the letters you’ve typed will
appear. Under here are any relevant bookmarks
and related pages you’ve previously visited.
2: Remembering websites
Type a search name and if it isn’t automatically
recognised, tap on Go to bring up a list of
results and tap on one to go there. Next time
you type it, Safari will remember that website.
3: Change the engine
Google is the default search engine. To change
it, go to Settings>Safari>Search Engine. You
can use Yahoo or Bing instead, or DuckDuckGo
which prevents sites from tracking you.
4: Open more windows
To have multiple panes open, simply tap the ‘+’
icon near the top right and select a site or enter
a search for the one that you want. To close a
tab, just tap on its little cross icon.
5: Manage open tabs
Tap on the multiple tabs icon at the top right
to see a preview of all open browser windows
at once. Tap on the close gadget to remove, or
tap and drag off the screen sideways.
6: Private browsing
You may want to keep your activity on it private
with no tracking, autofill or history. Tap on the
tabs icon and then on Private. Tap on the ‘+’
sign to begin.
7: Desktop site please
The iPhone 6 and 6s aren’t great at showing
full-size webpages despite the bigger screen.
Despite that, you may still need to view the
desktop version of a site. Firstly, go to the site…
8: Make the change
Tap on the address bar then tap, hold and
drag the window that appears underneath, in
a downwards direction. You will now have the
option to request the desktop site instead.
9: Scan your card
Go through the process of buying something
from an online store and when tapping on the
field to add a new credit/debit card, there’s an
option to scan your card.
10: Save for reading
Reading Lists are the Apple version of saving
webpages for reading offline later, and syncing
them across all your devices. Tap on the Share
icon and then on Add to Reading List.
11: Read them later
To read your webpages when offline, tap on
the Bookmarks icon and then on the glasses
icon. Delete old pages by swiping left-right or
tap on one to go to it to read now.
12: Using iCloud Tabs
You can move from iMac to iPhone and take
your browsing with you with iCloud-synced
Safari tabs. Go to Settings>iCloud>Safari and
check that it is toggled to on.
13: Configure your Mac
On your Mac, click on Apple>System
Preferences>iCloud. Use the same account.
Then put a tick in the Safari box, click OK. On
the iPhone, tap the tabs icon to see iCloud Tabs.
14: Adding extensions
Safari and other apps can now use third-party
extensions that share, use actions or edit
photos. For example, download Pinterest from
the App Store. Go back to Safari, tap on Share.
15: Add the extension
Swipe the apps left to see the More option,
then tap on it. Turn on Pinterest. Go to a
webpage, use Share>Pinterest, log in and share
the images you have found.