Safari 11 for Mac Users Stops Audio from Autoplaying, Improves AutoFill Accuracy, and More

Alongside the general availability of iOS 11 on Tuesday, Apple has also updated its Safari browser for macOS users. The new Safari v11.0 update is now available for users running on macOS Sierra and macOS X El Capitan. The update brings a few new improvements and performance enhancements, but the most notable and welcome new feature is that Safari will now stop audio from playing automatically on most sites.

The update to Safari comes just days before Apple releases the next big update for macOS devices - macOS High Sierra. Apple's Web browser now promises to stop media with audio from playing automatically when visiting most websites, according to the Safari 11 description on the Mac App Store. Apple had first announced this at WWDC when it unveiled High Sierra. Users will no doubt appreciate this feature as they would have experienced instances wherein some audio starts playing in one of the many tabs opened, making it annoying and cumbersome to find out where the audio is coming from.

Apart from this, Safari 11 will now give you the option to configure Reader, content blockers, page zoom, auto-play settings for individual websites, or for all websites. The update also improves AutoFill accuracy from Contacts cards, which means you're likely to find it easier now filling out payment details when purchasing products, or when filling out personal forms. Additionally, Safari 11 also includes updated media controls for HTML video and audio, as well as some enhancements to performance and efficiency.

Safari 11 is already available for users who have updated their iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices to iOS 11. Mac users on macOS 10.13, macOS 10.12.6, and 10.11.6, are eligible for Safari 11 and can get the update via the Mac App Store. Apple will release macOS High Sierra on September 25 for users running on macOS Sierra. The new OS update brings a new Apple File System (APFS), external GPU and VR support, and High Efficiency Video Codec (HEVC) support, and a faster Safari experience among other things. There's also improvements made to the Photos app, FaceTime, Notes, Mail, and iCloud.

We discussed iOS 11 and the future of iPhone and iPad in-depth on our weekly technology podcast - Orbital. You can subscribe to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS or hit the play button below.