Here's how much faster web pages load with Safari's Content Blocker in iOS 9
One of the features Apple is introducing in iOS 9 later this year might turbo-charge your mobile browsing.
With just one hour of coding a test extension that uses Safari's upcoming Content Blocker, a developer saw a particular web page load time decrease from 11 to two seconds.
Mobile app developer Dean Murphy shared both his experience and the JavaScript extension code, which in his test case disabled more than three dozen third-party scripts. That sped up the mobile page view load time while also displaying a cleaner look:
"With no content blocked, there are 38 3rd party scripts (scripts not hosted on the host domain) running when the homepage is opened, which takes a total of 11 seconds. Some of these scripts are hosted by companies I know, Google, Amazon, Twitter and lots from companies I don't know. Most of which I assume are used to display adverts or track my activity, as the network activity was still active after a minute of leaving the page dormant."
Murphy also investigated the network calls made during the page load.
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As you'd expect, with all of the third-party tracking and ad scripts disabled, network requests were minimized. After the page fully loaded, Murphy saw no additional network traffic.
For end-users on the go, that's key.
Fewer network requests means less mobile broadband use; important for those with limited data plans. And as Murphy notes, fewer network requests means less of a battery drain when browsing, all other things being equal.
Content providers won't likely be happy though. Blocking ad or tracking scripts will result in less data for advertising purposes, not to mention fewer ads served.
Hands-on with Apple iOS 9 (in pictures)
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