macOS High Sierra: Changes That Affect Advertisers And How People Browse

As I mentioned in another thread earlier about Google Chrome's announcement of adblock on by default, Apple is joining the party with macOS High Sierra updates.

In the latest announcements in WWDC, Apple is upgrading Safari with machine learning (buzzword of the year I'm sure).

So what exactly is changing with Safari?

Two key announcements:

1. Speed overhaul: loading javascript will be 80% faster than Chrome

2. Machine Learning to learn how to identify and block ad trackers
- Safari will be reliant on machine learning to identify/recognise, then block ad trackers
- Prevent autoplay functions of videos
- Focus on an ad free viewing experience of online content (already available, but they're highlighting this feature).

What this means for most marketers is the tracking perspective of who their ads are displayed to. It's going to get harder for advertisers to micro-target prospective traffic based on relevancy and history, Apple has masked this as a 'security update' to improve the browsing experience.




(Screenshots taken from the Apple macOS High Sierra Preview landing page, link at bottom)

If anyone is part of the Apple Developer Program, would love some input into the discussion as I'm sure you'll know more about the intricacies than what's currently available around the web. I'm sure this is more complicated than it's made out to be. Apple has announced it will be releasing the public beta end of June 2017.

For reference:

9to5mac:
https://9to5mac.com/2017/06/05/apple...ovements-more/

The Verge:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/5/15...ures-wwdc-2017

Apple's macOS High Sierra Preview:
https://www.apple.com/macos/high-sierra-preview/