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Have you dropped Safari for a different browser, after macOS Tahoe was released?

C

chmania

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Dec 2, 2023
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I finally made the switch from Safari to MS Edge. While it lacks the Favorites page or folders for organizing bookmarks, the other features make it hard to go back to Safari. On macOS Tahoe, YouTube stutters in Safari, and clicking the "+" button doesn’t open a new tab instantly. Edge might not have a specific "Open last closed tab" option, but it does show a list of recently closed tabs to choose from. Plus, Tim Cook's much-hyped AI is readily accessible everywhere. Of course, not Apple Intelligence. ;)

Vivaldi and Opera have a Favourites start page, and Copilot is assisting in creating a similar page on Edge. Let's see if I need that.
 
chmania said:
I finally made the switch from Safari to MS Edge. While it lacks the Favorites page or folders for organizing bookmarks, the other features make it hard to go back to Safari. On macOS Tahoe, YouTube stutters in Safari, and clicking the "+" button doesn’t open a new tab instantly. Edge might not have a specific "Open last closed tab" option, but it does show a list of recently closed tabs to choose from. Plus, Tim Cook's much-hyped AI is readily accessible everywhere. Of course, not Apple Intelligence. ;)

Vivaldi and Opera have a Favourites start page, and Copilot is assisting in creating a similar page on Edge. Let's see if I need that.
Click to expand...
Apart from the fact that I don't encounter all these problems with Safari (except for accessing certain web interfaces for network devices, which I solve with Firefox), it's more a question of integration between the various Apple devices/software and, above all, in my case, a question of trust. I trust Apple more than MS or Google... ;)
 
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As typing in url box was slow as hell, also disabling Siri suggestions, I have switched to Firefox.
Very refreshing
 
I have had zero issues with Safari, and prefer its integration into my apple ecosystem. Then again, I'm running a mac mini m1 with 1TB of disc and 16GB of ram. I run out of oomph after about 20 tabs open or so, as the memory management of Safari has a different paradigm than other browsers. Firefox, for example, let's you automatically offload unused tabs to temporary disc instead of using up precious Ram. If you have a base system running Tahoe, and you have dozens of apps running in the background, then you will want to consider upgrading to more ram, more cpu etc.

When the M5 mac mini comes out next year, I'll be ready to upgrade. 32GB will be the minimum for me - but I'm a developer with multiple editors open, web server, database, etc.
 
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chmania said:
I finally made the switch from Safari to MS Edge. While it lacks the Favorites page or folders for organizing bookmarks, the other features make it hard to go back to Safari. On macOS Tahoe, YouTube stutters in Safari, and clicking the "+" button doesn’t open a new tab instantly. Edge might not have a specific "Open last closed tab" option, but it does show a list of recently closed tabs to choose from. Plus, Tim Cook's much-hyped AI is readily accessible everywhere. Of course, not Apple Intelligence. ;)

Vivaldi and Opera have a Favourites start page, and Copilot is assisting in creating a similar page on Edge. Let's see if I need that.
Click to expand...
I have no reason to. Safari runs just fine on my M1Max Mac Studio with macOS 26
 
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Yep - After using Safari for years, I switched to Chrome a couple of months ago. Switching was a chore 👎 But, so far, I'm glad I made the change👍

Lou
 
I use Safari with some privacy extensions. On the rare occasion where these don't work with a particular site, I use to Brave. Brave is chromium based but without any tinge of Google.
 
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chabig said:
I use Safari with some privacy extensions. On the rare occasion where these don't work with a particular site, I use to Brave. Brave is chromium based but without any tinge of Google.
Click to expand...
Brave compares itself with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and Duckduckgo, but doesn't compare itself against Vivaldi and Opera. Does anyone here use those two safe browsers?
 
I use Safari as browser of last resort - Apple's nanny'isms of how little control / useful extensions it gives users makes it unusable for me and just gets up my wick.

Using Firefox currently, with Betterfox tweaks (https://github.com/yokoffing/Betterfox/tree/main), while Vivaldi on standby if a Chromium browser needed.

That said, I have been pleasantly surprised by the Orion browser - uses Safari's WebKit and settings (so its fast), but unlike Safari, it allows for installation of a significant range of both Firefox and Chrome extensions.
 
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chmania said:
Brave compares itself with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and Duckduckgo, but doesn't compare itself against Vivaldi and Opera. Does anyone here use those two safe browsers?
Click to expand...
I use Vivaldi when certain sites need Chrome. I used Brave before, but I got put off by their crypto shenanigans. Vivaldi is clean – no Google, no crypto, no AI – and gets the job done.
 
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Bazza1 said:
That said, I have been pleasantly surprised by the Orion browser - uses Safari's WebKit and settings (so its fast), but unlike Safari, it allows for installation of a significant range of both Firefox and Chrome extensions.
Click to expand...

+1 for Orion. Their team will brag about Orion being a hair faster than Safari but it's not enough to notice IMO. Has support for Kagi if you want to not be the product when you search.

The iPhone version isn't as nice as the Mac version, though.

It's also coming to Linux systems soon™ if you're into that.
 
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chmania said:
Brave compares itself with Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari and Duckduckgo, but doesn't compare itself against Vivaldi and Opera. Does anyone here use those two safe browsers?
Click to expand...
What does make you beliefe these are safe browsers? Their marketing? Personally I would stay well away of Opera ever since their ownership fell into Chinese hands [1]. I feel like this is basically the opposite of safe and trustworthy. Regarding Vivaldi I don't actually know that much about it but, again personally I am staying away of anything chromium based, as this further strengthens googles monopoly, because even ungoogling Chrome and adding modifications is limited by the rather small developer groups of these comparably niche browsers. Thus in the end the development direction is still dictated by anything google.

Going by this I think Ladybird is a pretty interesting development as well as good old Firefox. That said I still use Safari on macOS and anything webkit on Linux as my main browsers, because I really value its speed and integration (Keychain passwords, sharing menus, printing, handoff, etc.).
 
Rastafabi said:
What does make you beliefe these are safe browsers? Their marketing? Personally I would stay well away of Opera ever since their ownership fell into Chinese hands [1].
Click to expand...
Have you ever used Opera? What might be the % of those companies in China that makes your Apple products, and their parts?
If you're against Chinese-owned businesses, you might avoid eating Smithfield Foods products, using GE Appliances, visiting AMC Theatres, or stepping into the Waldorf Astoria, or play Riot Games for example.
Rastafabi said:
Regarding Vivaldi I don't actually know that much about it but, again personally I am staying away of anything chromium based,
Click to expand...
That's the problem, one hasn't used it, but still has an opinion on it.
Rastafabi said:
That's the issue—someone forms an opinion about it without even having used it.That's the problem—someone hasn't used it but still has an opinion about it.as this further strengthens googles monopoly, because even ungoogling Chrome and adding modifications is limited by the rather small developer groups of these comparably niche browsers. Thus in the end the development direction is still dictated by anything google.
Click to expand...
I'm sure, you are using some other search engine in your Safari, other than Google. ;)
 
chmania said:
Have you ever used Opera? What might be the % of those companies in China that makes your Apple products, and their parts?
If you're against Chinese-owned businesses, you might avoid eating Smithfield Foods products, using GE Appliances, visiting AMC Theatres, or stepping into the Waldorf Astoria, or play Riot Games for example.
Click to expand...
Yes I did. For several years in fact, before they moved to chromium. Also speaking of software is something entirely different than hardware and services. But actually I do not use any of these services you mentioned. Luckily being located in Europe, which used to be one of my motivations to actually use Opera, and still continues to be a argument for Vivaldi. If it wasn’t using chromium that is.
That's the problem, one hasn't used it, but still has an opinion on it.
Click to expand...
No it is not. I clearly states why I made that decision, and that is a personal one and that I do not state an universal truth.
I'm sure, you are using some other search engine in your Safari, other than Google. ;)
Click to expand...
Certainly! There are plenty. I like DuckDuckGo, but also use Qwant and Escosia.
 
Rastafabi said:
Yes I did. For several years in fact, before they moved to chromium.
Click to expand...
That was a different opera. The same person who created that opera is now working on Vivaldi.
Rastafabi said:
Also speaking of software is something entirely different than hardware and services. But actually I do not use any of these services you mentioned. Luckily being located in Europe, which used to be one of my motivations to actually use Opera, and still continues to be a argument for Vivaldi.
Click to expand...
Opera is developed and maintained in two European countries, not China. Vivaldi being based in one of them.
 
chmania said:
Opera is developed and maintained in two European countries, not China. Vivaldi being based in one of them.
Click to expand...
Opera Limited is incorporated in Cayman Islands, and is a subsidiary of Kunlun Tech Co, which is based in Beijing and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Opera Limited wholly owns Opera Holdings AS, which in turn wholly owns Opera Services AS, which in turn wholly owns Opera Norway AS (all incorporated in Norway). The filing notes "Our corporate headquarters is located in Oslo, Norway. Our principal technical development facilities are located in Wroclaw, Poland, Dundee, Scotland, Beijing, China and both Linköping and Gothenburg, Sweden".

The filing notes that Opera is owned by Chinese company Kunlun Tech Co: "In 2021, Kunlun, a Chinese public company and our largest investor, increased its ownership stake in us beyond 50%, and as a result we became a consolidated subsidiary of Kunlun … as a subsidiary of Kunlun, we are additionally subject to certain of the listing rules of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Chinese corporate governance standards."
Click to expand...
en.wikipedia.org

Opera (web browser) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
I've been using Firefox ESR, because I like the idea of "only one major update per year" (which is also mostly what Safari has going on)... as opposed to "features" trickling in possibly every few weeks, and sometimes unwelcome ones that I have to figure out how to disable. I also like the idea of supporting a world with browser engines other than Chromium. And yes, Firefox's extensions ecosystem is excellent.
 
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