Apple Introduces AI-Powered 'Summarize' Feature in Safari for iOS 18

Apple Intelligence Will Bring New Summarize Feature To Safari, Miniaturizing The Web Page For An Easier Read

Apple released the new beta for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 for developers, bringing some advanced Apple Intelligence capabilities such as Siri upgrades, transcription advancements, photo enhancement, and more. Among the many key improvements, Safari is also being revamped with the help of the AI tool by getting a key new summarize feature that will help better with grasping detailed information from web pages with the help of quick summaries presented by Apple browser's Reader mode. With the iOS 18.1 beta being rolled out, the tech community has been looking forward to Apple Intelligence updates on various functions and features across Apple's ecosystem. Although Safari's Reader mode gets upgraded every year with a new set of features, the browser is to get a massive upgrade this time around, with a new summarized feature making its way to the devices. To access Reader Mode, you only need to open the Safari browser and go through any web page. There would be a Reader icon at the address bar that you need to select. When you go to the Reader view in Safari, you can see a new 'Summarize' option at the top of the page with the Apple Intelligence logo imprinted on the side. You would then need to tap the summary button, and an animation will pop up to scan the page's content. A summary will then be generated immediately. One key feature of this advancement in Safari leveraging Apple Intelligence is the seamless integration it offers across Apple's ecosystem, streamlining the experience whether you are on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Since the feature is in its initial beta version, we can expect some errors and lags. Safari getting this upgrade would be quite useful for users, given that they would no longer need to go through lengthy information for some significant data and could let the feature do the work instead. The summarize feature will improve the overall browsing experience by saving time, enhancing accessibility, and presenting information in a more easy-to-understand way. Currently, the feature is only available in Reader mode, and users would have to activate it manually to benefit from the summary upgrade. Being limited to Reader mode can be an inconvenience for some, but Apple may consider integrating the capability in the browser's toolbar later on. Apple Intelligence can bring more innovative features and improvements to Safari as the technology evolves.

Safari gets Apple Intelligence upgrade in iOS 18.1 with new summarize feature

The first iteration of Apple Intelligence is now in users' hands. New betas for iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 have brought a subset of AI features in an early preview version. One such feature arrives in Apple's browser, Safari. Here's how iOS 18.1 infuses Safari with AI to provide webpage summaries. Safari's Reader mode gets multiple new features this year. There's a table of contents feature for pages containing headings and subheadings. And Reader is also where the new Apple Intelligence-powered page summaries live. When you open Reader view in iOS 18.1, there's a new 'Summarize' button at the top. It's flanked by the Apple Intelligence logo. Hit the button, and an animation will appear to scan the contents of the page with a purple Apple Intelligence glow. In my testing, this scan only ever took a second or two. Summaries were delivered very quickly across every device I used, including: Once the scan is complete, the page summary becomes available immediately. On iPhone, you'll see the summary at the top of the page, while on iPad and Mac it's displayed in a sidebar. I've found Safari's summaries both intelligent and helpful in my early use. This initial beta version will undoubtedly improve over time, but they're nice to have. By building summaries into Safari's Reader mode, Apple is in a sense minimizing how many people will actually use them. Safari summaries aren't automatic, and they aren't available in the normal website view. You have to open Reader before gaining the option for a summary. Even then, you need to manually request it every time. I'm curious if this decision was made in an effort to simply preserve processing power. Perhaps there was another reason? In future versions, it could be nice if summaries were viewable apart from Reader mode. It'd be great to have a dedicated summaries button in the Safari toolbar. When Apple first unveiled Apple Intelligence back in June, Safari was scarcely mentioned. New features like site summaries were detailed, but not as part of the Apple Intelligence story. Now that the first betas are out, however, it appears that Apple Intelligence is behind Safari summaries after all. The Apple Intelligence logo is used, and the interface works a lot like the summaries available with the new AI writing tools. It's unclear what this means for users without an Apple Intelligence-supported device, or if things might change during the beta cycle. Per Apple's iOS 18 website, Safari summaries will be available for all users, not just those with AI devices. Perhaps one Apple Intelligence feature, at least, will be making its way to a broader set of iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Have you used Safari's summarize feature? How well did it work? Let us know in the comments.

In iOS 18, Safari resumes any webpage: this is how the tool works that can change how we read on the internet - Softonic

The latest available beta of iOS, version 18.1, brings Apple Intelligence and with it, a feature that can change the way we interact with content on the internet. This novelty is none other than the ability to automatically summarize web pages thanks to the integration of artificial intelligence from Apple in Safari. Safari's Reader Mode, already known for its ability to provide a cleaner and distraction-free reading experience, has been enhanced with the page summary feature made possible by Apple Intelligence. When activating reader view in Safari on iOS 18.1, we find a new button called "Summarize," located at the top of the screen and below the title of the page we are viewing. By pressing the button, an animation is displayed that simulates a scan of the page with the characteristic purple glow of Apple Intelligence. This scan takes only one or two seconds, and immediately after, the summary of the page is available. On the iPhone, this summary appears at the top of the page, while on the iPad and Mac, it is displayed in a sidebar. Without replacing the reading of the original article in the vast majority of cases, summaries are indeed tremendously useful, providing a quick understanding of the content without the need to read the entire text. Aware that a single paragraph cannot replace an article, it is important to note that Safari's summaries are not automatic or available in the normal view of the website. It is necessary to first activate Reader mode to access the summary option, and in addition, it must be requested manually each time we want it. In addition to being able to generate content, Apple Intelligence must greatly support us in information management. And in this field, text summarization is something to take into account. Summaries of a phone call recording, a long email, or an article on the internet greatly change how we interact with texts of a certain length. For now, we will have to wait for Apple Intelligence to incorporate other languages into its repertoire, but it is clear that being able to know what an article is about before diving into its reading is something to consider.

Apple rolls out AI-enhanced Developer Beta with new Safari summarize tool and improved Siri: Report

Additionally, Safari has been upgraded with the AI-powered Summarize feature, providing concise summaries of web pages and articles. The introduction of Apple Intelligence features was highlighted in the company's release notes, with the Summarize feature standing out. Initially reported by 9to5Mac, this tool is accessible in Safari's Reader mode. Reportedly, users can find a new Summarize button at the top of the page, marked by the Apple Intelligence logo. Upon activation, an animation scans the page content, emitting a purple Apple Intelligence glow. This process takes a few seconds before the summary is displayed. On iPhones, the summary appears at the top of the page, while on iPads and Macs, it is shown in a sidebar. The feature was tested on devices such as the iPhone 15 Pro, M4-powered iPad Pro, and MacBook Air with the M1 chipset. The developer beta update introduces several other noteworthy Apple Intelligence features. Siri has been enhanced with contextual awareness, enabling it to comprehend and respond to vague queries more effectively. This update also includes a redesigned user interface for Siri. The Photos app now boasts a new AI feature that allows users to create movies using the Memory Movie option. This feature supports text prompts, enabling users to customize their movies to their liking. Furthermore, new Writing Tools have been integrated, providing spelling and grammar checks across multiple first-party apps. These tools also offer text rewriting options in various tonalities. Apple's latest beta update represents a significant step forward in integrating AI functionalities across its ecosystem, promising to enhance user experience and productivity. With features like the Summarize tool in Safari and the advanced capabilities of Siri, the company continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with intelligent technology. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more. 3.6 Crore Indians visited in a single day choosing us as India's undisputed platform for General Election Results. Explore the latest updates here!

This is the one Apple Intelligence feature I like so far -- just because it's going to save me so much time reading emails

I'll admit: I wasn't enthusiastic about Apple Intelligence when it was announced at WWDC, Apple's yearly developer conference, back in June. After seeing countless AI models try to replace certain apps like Mail or generative features, Apple Intelligence didn't fill me with confidence. I was, and still am, more enthusiastic about how AI can help those with accessibility needs with visual and audio impairments. At WWDC, I struggled to see the benefits of such features as 'Writing Tools', which can rewrite inputted text across macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18, into something casual or professional. Then there's Image Playground, Apple's take on generative AI. Apple Intelligence will create an image or an emoji based on your text or voice prompt. I'll be honest, I winced at this section during the WWDC keynote. The resulting images still look rough, creepy even, and ultimately I see no benefit to this or the audience this feature serves. Fast forward to July 29, and Apple released beta versions of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 with support for Apple Intelligence. I signed up my M1 iPad Pro to the beta program and within an hour, I was able to use Apple's AI features. I was unimpressed by the features, except for one: the summarize feature in the Mail app, which can provide a 4-line summary of what an email includes. After using this feature for less than a day, I can safely say that it's the only aspect I like of Apple Intelligence so far. I subscribe to a lot of newsletters, which all arrive in my Mail app weekly. These include Rings of Saturn, which goes into detail about scrapped content from games, and Read Only Memo, which covers the latest news in retro-gaming emulation. These newsletters can be great to read during a lunch break or on the weekend, but sometimes I just want the gist of what they include. This is where the 'Summarize' feature in the Mail app comes in handy. If you're running the beta versions of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, or macOS Sequoia 15.1 with an Apple device running an M1 chip or above, open the Mail app and select an email with a lot of text. At the top of this email, you'll see a new 'Summarize' icon to the right. Press it, and you'll get a four-line summary of the email. In my day-long usage of this feature, I've found it to be fast and accurate, although there have been rare moments when Apple Intelligence has, for some reason, refused to summarize an email, such as other newsletters. When it works though, it works well. If you're still unsure about the 'Summarize' feature, think of it as looking at the back of a book when browsing in a bookstore. You'll usually find a summary of what the book is about, tempting you to buy it. This feature is an example of how AI can help you, instead of enhancing what you create through words with 'Writing Tools', or how Apple Intelligence can generate creepy images from a text or voice prompt. 'Summarize' can help to give you an idea of what an email entails, which could encourage you to read it in full. It's why this feature is the only one I like so far. I'm looking forward to seeing it improve over the coming months until the iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 updates are out of beta and widely available. For now, though, I'm going to use 'Summarize' in the Mail app as much as I can to see how it fares with other types of emails, such as deals newsletters, responses from an interview, and more.