Safari

Using your iPhone as a remote for your Mac or PC

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 4, 2018

You're probably familiar with Apple's Remote app for iOS devices, which allows you to control your iTunes playback on your Mac from your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad so long as you're on the same network.

On the other hand, when I think of the word "remote," I think of much more than just controlling music.

It would seem that the makers of the popular Mobile Mouse Remote app for iOS thought the same, and in this piece, we'll talk about how the app works to make your iOS device a superior remote for your Mac.

How to view recent Safari history on your Mac

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2023

Not only does Safari give you the fastest way to surf the web on your computer, it's also the most energy efficient web browser on macOS that maximizes your Mac's battery life.

As so many Mac owners use Safari on a daily basis, their browsing histories are packed to the gills with records of previously visited websites.

Finding your way back to a previously visited site by searching the entire browsing history can be quite tedious with months or years of data stored in it.

Like on iOS, Safari for Mac provides a convenient shortcut that lets you quickly jump to any previously visited webpage on a per-tab basis.

Pop-ups in Safari on your Mac? Here’s what to do

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated July 10, 2019

I hate pop-ups, and chances are, you probably do too. They're not only a nuisance, but most of the time they're also designed to get in your way to purposely try and scam you and get you to click on malicious material.

Safari in macOS comes with anti-pop-up measures, but those with malicious intent are always coming up with ways to get around those measures.

In this post, we'll talk about what you can do in a scenario when you get these annoying pop-up messages on your Mac and why you might be getting them.

Tip: stop YouTube’s annoying video autoplay ‘Up Next’ feature within iOS app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 26, 2023

My colleague Anthony recently vented his frustration with YouTube's default handling of the 'Up Next' feature on the web. Autoplay in YouTube is one of the banes of my existence, too, but as Anthony states in his write-up, YouTube for iOS lacks a switch to disable auto-play videos.

Not anymore, though: the latest version of Google's native YouTube client for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad includes an easily overlooked switch that lets you stop an endless stream of recommended videos from being spoon-fed down your throat with a single tap.

If you watch a lot of YouTube through your iPhone's cellular connection, you're wholeheartedly recommended to disable 'Up Next' on the iOS app, here's how.

How to view recent Safari history on iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 1, 2023

On any given day, I browse the web a lot—be it catching up on the news, doing research on future stories or skimming through my favorites to learn what's the latest. And more often than not do I find myself struggling to make my way back to an article I stumbled upon a few hours ago.

Locating a specific item in browsing history can feel like finding a needle in the haystack, especially if you're on the go.

Yes, I could just tap Safari's back button multiple times or swipe to go back a single webpage at a time until I found the webpage I was looking for, but that's a time-consuming process which unnecessarily wastes my iPhone's cellular data.

As you'll discover in this tutorial, Safari provides a very handy, though not immediately obvious shortcut which allows you to quickly jump to any previously visited webpage.

Safari Technology Preview Release 3 is out with a long list of fixes

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 27, 2016

Apple today launched a third update for Safari Technology Preview, an experimental version of the desktop Safari browser for developers to try and test out upcoming web technologies. Safari Technology Preview Release 3 includes a long list of bug fixes and tweaks for various web technologies, including JavaScript, CSS, Web APIs, Web Inspector, Accessibility, Rendering, Media and Networking.

Safari to gain support for audio/video chats via WebRTC standard without needing a plugin

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 14, 2016

Apple is hard at work on adding support to its Safari browser for cross-platform audio/video communications capability that won't require any special plug-in, enterprise computing blog No Jitter learned yesterday.

The Cupertino firm's reportedly decided to incorporate support for the open-source WebRTC project, a real-time video and audio standard originally created by Google.

Microsoft's Edge and Mozilla’s Firefox browsers have adopted this technology recently, which lets web developers create messaging applications that run in a browser and offer two-way audio/video communications capability without a plug-in.

First Safari Technology Preview update drops

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 24, 2017

Safari Technology Preview, a special version of Apple's desktop browser designed to give developers their first look at upcoming new features and future enhancements, today received the first official update since its release two weeks ago.

The new build packs in a host of fixes and improvements for Safari's layout and rendering engine, CSS, JavaScript, Web APIs, Accessibility, Web Inspector and other facets of the app.

Apple releases Safari Technology Preview browser for developers to test latest web technologies

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 11, 2017

Wednesday, Apple announced immediate availability of a brand new browser created specifically for web developers. Safari Technology Preview, as it's called, resembles an ordinary Safari browser with a distinctively purple app icon in the dock. With Safari Technology Preview, web developers can get their hands on improvements to WebKit and other web technologies and optimize their web code before these technologies trickle down in future releases of iOS and OS X.

“Get a sneak peek at upcoming Safari web technologies in OS X and iOS, and easily experiment with these technologies in your websites and extensions,” writes Apple.

Some people complain that iOS 9.3 crashes after tapping on web links

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 28, 2016

It seems that iOS 9.3 is causing unexpected behavior when tapping web links, as evidenced by Twitter and a growing thread on the Apple Support Communities forums. Hundreds of affected users are reporting that the latest iPhones, and some older devices, become unresponsive or crash after tapping or tapping-and-holding web links in both first and third-party apps such as Safari, Messages, Mail, Notes, Google Chrome and more. For others, tapping on links does nothing.

Other people claim they were plagued with the same issue on iOS 9.2 devices, with some users claiming they heard from an Apple Support representative that the company is aware of the issue and is working on a fix, which should be released soon.

OS X El Capitan 10.11.4 is out with full Live Photos sharing, password-protected Notes and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 5, 2018

After spending more than two months in beta, OS X 10.11.4, a fourth major update to OS X El Capitan, today released for public consumption. The software update is now available and recommended for all OS X El Capitan users.

Even though it comes with a few noticeable outward-facing changes, OS X 10.11.4 does pack in some newsworthy improvements—namely in stock Messages, Notes and Photos apps. Full sharing of Live Photos via iMessages has been implemented throughout the system, too. Like other major OS X releases, 10.11.4 includes a handful of under-the-hood changes and tons of bug fixes and performance optimizations.

How to watch Apple’s ‘Let us loop you in’ event live

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

Apple will be streaming its 'Let us loop you in' media event live on the company's website. The Cupertino-based company is expected to unveil a number of new products related to iPhone, iPad, and the Apple Watch, but we'll have to wait and see to know for sure.

If you'll be tuning in to watch the Apple event live on your computer, there are some requirements you'll have to meet, and we'll touch on those requirements in this piece so you're prepared for it.