Apple normally ships new versions of its Safari web browser with new macOS releases, but the firm didn’t release macOS Big Sur this week alongside iOS 14, iPadOS 14, tvOS 14, and watchOS 7. To somewhat make up for that, it has instead released Big Sur’s Safari version for older macOS versions.

“Safari 14.0 introduces new features, even faster performance, and improved security,” the release notes explain.

New features include:

– New tab bar design shows more tabs on screen and displays favicons by default

– Customizable start page allows you to set a background image and add new sections

– Privacy Report shows cross-site trackers that are being blocked by Intelligent Tracking Prevention

– Removes support for Adobe Flash for improved security

I’m curious why macOS Big Sur hasn’t been released, but my guess is it’s related to the coming release of the first Apple Silicon-based Macs.