New AI Features Reportedly Coming to Safari in iOS 18

[MacRumors]

Safari will gain a series of AI-powered features and UI enhancements in iOS 18, AppleInsider reports.

Safari will apparently receive a range of visual tweaks alongside several new tools to improve the browsing experience, including:

• An "Intelligent Search" browser assistant tool that leverages Apple's on-device AI technology to identify key topics and phrases on webpages for summarization purposes.
• A "Web Eraser" tool that allows users to remove unwanted portions of webpages easily. Erasure is persistent, remaining even when revisiting a site unless changes are reverted.
• A new, quick-access menu emerging from the address bar that consolidates page tools, bringing over some functions that currently sit in the Share Sheet and placing them alongside the new tools.

The iPadOS and macOS versions of Safari are also expected to align further. These new features are purportedly undergoing evaluation alongside internal builds of iOS 18 and macOS 15 ahead of their unveiling at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC) in June. Earlier this month, backend code on Apple's servers suggested that a new Safari browsing assistant is in the works, corroborating this report.

Farther in the future, Apple is said to be working on a more powerful version of Visual Look Up that allows users to obtain information on products when browsing through images. The feature is expected to be released sometime in 2025.

Last week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 18 will "overhaul" many of Apple's built-in apps, including Notes, Mail, Photos, and Fitness. Apple's next-generation operating systems are almost certain to be previewed during Apple's WWDC keynote on June 10, and the updates should be widely released in the fall.

Article Link: New AI Features Reportedly Coming to Safari in iOS 18

 

[SmugMaverick]

“AI” features 😂

iOS 18 sounds even worse every day now.

Biggest update in iOS history!!!!! Lmfao

Can’t even do alarms right, wouldn’t trust AI with this lot in a million years.

 

[addamas]

Some will be as always iPhone 16 only? 😂

 

[ifxf]

I hope Apple is not Apple and lets me disable the capability.

 

[jz0309]

yet another reason to not upgrade to ios18, for me that is, unless I'd get a new phone ...

 

[Paddle1]

"Web eraser"? Kind of sounds like ad block.

 

[jb310]

A "Web Eraser" tool that allows users to remove unwanted portions of webpages easily. Erasure is persistent, remaining even when revisiting a site unless changes are reverted.

This particular feature sounds really interesting and I genuinely want to see how this will be implemented. 👀

 

[Populus]

Some will be as always iPhone 16 only? 😂

Well, iOS 18 presentation is in June. iPhone 16 presentation is in September. So… my guess is that I’ll be mostly available to A14 devices and up.

But yeah, they will probably save one or two attractive features for the A18/M4 hardware.

 

[spaxxedout]

Upgrading so that I can web erase my credit card balance from chase.com

 

[Populus]

This particular feature sounds really interesting and I genuinely want to see how this will be implemented. 👀

I have been thinking, and it doesn’t occur to me how could this work, or with what purpose.

 

[Newgoblin49]

How will iOS18 help in searching for adult content ?

 

[Verified Whiskey]

I have been thinking, and it doesn’t occur to me how could this work, or with what purpose.

Ad block! Or to erase your ex’s posts on instagram.

That being said, if it’s persistent across sessions I’m trying to imagine how big that cache will grow to.

 

[iksretep]

I hope "AI" doesn't mean more "suggestions" ... we're already plagued with that across all apps.

 

[Bigkool2inSC]

I hope there is toggle for "turn off all AI features on this device" option.
preferably right in the siri and search section of settings, right on top..

 

[ProbablyDylan]

Not sure why so many people in this forum are anti-anything labelled AI, especially if it'll be done on-device. All these features sound like good and useful additions to me.

 

[mysticmanix]

When will they add scrolling screenshots system wide? This is a feature that is on Samsung Galaxies since forever that I wish was on IPhones

 

[d0sed0se]

So Safari will become Bing then? Ugh

What's next, they going to start putting ads into iOS and macOS under the guise of "AI" like what MSFT has been doing to W11?! 👎

 

[JohnRckr]

I really hope it will be something similar to Samsung Browser’s summarise feature, that thing is awesome..

But I’ll be probably disappointed as always when it comes to Apple

 

[Alex Cai]

I will stick with Arc instead

 

[meson]

I have been thinking, and it doesn’t occur to me how could this work, or with what purpose.

"Hey Apple Intelligence, please remove content not related to Macs and MacOS from MacRumors and alert me when new content has been published."

"Hey Mean Girls, let's get everyone to block Sally Sunshine's content with Web Eraser."

What could possibly go wrong if you give users the ability to hit the mute switch on ideas and topics that are not in their echo chamber.

Unless the feature is purely tied to advertising and tracking, it could become extremely counterproductive to society.

 

[Apple_Robert]

How will iOS18 help in searching for adult content ?

When doing a search for said content, Safari, with the new technology ability, will refer said user to several datings apps thereby increasing the search users ability to gain a girlfriend.

 

[LedRush]

I hope "AI" doesn't mean more "suggestions" ... we're already plagued with that across all apps.

I’m worried that it means more biased interventions in what I’m searching. Google is great for finding hidden pieces of information on the internet. But if I just want to get any sort of raw data on a topic that has any political ramifications whatsoever, I have to use a different search engine. I don’t want this “feature” expanded in any way, shape, or form.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

Sounds like whatever you use your iPhone for now(practically everything) is going to become easier, faster, much more innovative and way more efficient. Cant wait.

 

[LedRush]

"Hey Apple Intelligence, please remove content not related to Macs and MacOS from MacRumors and alert me when new content has been published."

"Hey Mean Girls, let's get everyone to block Sally Sunshine's content with Web Eraser."

What could possibly go wrong if you give users the ability to hit the mute switch on ideas and topics that are not in their echo chamber.

Unless the feature is purely tied to advertising and tracking, it could become extremely counterproductive to society.

That is the default now, except I have no control over it.

 

[coolfactor]

I just hope that Apple doesn't lose sight on the UNIX roots of their OS's.