The latest iteration of Apple’s Safari web-browser sees the Cupertino based company renew its arsenal in the fiercely competitive browser wars. According to Netmarketshare Internet Explorer still leads the pack with 62.1% followed by Firefox (24.4%), Chrome (5.22%) and Safari (4.53%). The numbers clearly show that Safari has a lot of ground to catch up in the popularity stakes (especially considering it was around before Chrome). Although I suspect that a significant number of users of Internet Explorer use it simply because it came with their computer and do not see the need to for any other browser or use it due to company policy, this does not change any of the facts about this well-known browser with its familiar interface design, and Internet Explorer 6 on its own is still accounts for 17.17% of market share!

Competing in this setting, the new Safari boasts some great interface design features that increase the usability of the browser considerably. Safari borrows heavily from iTunes’ interface design even going as far as replicating Cover Flow and thus allowing users to view bookmarks and history visually as they would a photo album or album covers. Top Sites allows users to see their most visited websites at a glance in a cinematic interface design showing previews of the sites. These features of Safari’s new interface design lead to great usability. A photo preview of a website is recognised much more intuitively and faster than a list of URLs. Safari also scores usability points for its Full History Search which allows users to search for webpages using words or phrases from a website they visited, rendering it obsolete to remember complex URLs.

Through prefab screen elements (e.g. radio buttons, links, navigation items, controls etc.) information architects can create clickable and animated web or software interfaces within minutes. Without any programming skills, interface designers can focus on the web concept and use cases, site structures and the overall layout of the site, instead of getting lost in details that only matter at a later stage of the project.