I use Chrome too, for my web development (and when a site doesn't work on Safari). For everything else I use Safari.
At work I use Edge instead of Safari (No Safari on Windows 10) and Chrome for the same things I use it for on my Mac.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Is there any real benefit to any other browser than Safari?
- Thread starter Technerd108
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I use Chrome too, for my web development (and when a site doesn't work on Safari). For everything else I use Safari.
At work I use Edge instead of Safari (No Safari on Windows 10) and Chrome for the same things I use it for on my Mac.
Integration - I don't use 3rd party password manager so only Safari supports it. Kind of a lock down I think.
Efficiency - Safari prioritises power consumption than performance. But they go overboard sometime that the cpu speed couldn't keep up of what's on screen. Result in lagging in scrolling occasionally. Taps reset very often if you have a lot of taps open.
Other than that Safari kind of suck for power users. Compatibility issues in some sites I have to switch to Edge sometime. Less customisation for your specifically needs. And less plugin support than others. But I'm fine for what Safari provides because it's not bloated yet and it's looks cleaner than others.
Efficiency - Safari prioritises power consumption than performance. But they go overboard sometime that the cpu speed couldn't keep up of what's on screen. Result in lagging in scrolling occasionally. Taps reset very often if you have a lot of taps open.
Other than that Safari kind of suck for power users. Compatibility issues in some sites I have to switch to Edge sometime. Less customisation for your specifically needs. And less plugin support than others. But I'm fine for what Safari provides because it's not bloated yet and it's looks cleaner than others.
Thank you for all of these responses.
One thing that no one has addressed was the security of the firewall and third party browsers as far as integration of the built in firewall protecting not just Safari?
Does the MacOS firewall protect 3rd party browsers??
Also in the past Firefox has been slow and poor at managing resources. Which browser in everyones opinion uses resources best. Now I want performance and a fast browsing experience but I hate when my Laptop starts to heat up just browsing websites due to huge resource usage.
Thank you!
One thing that no one has addressed was the security of the firewall and third party browsers as far as integration of the built in firewall protecting not just Safari?
Does the MacOS firewall protect 3rd party browsers??
Also in the past Firefox has been slow and poor at managing resources. Which browser in everyones opinion uses resources best. Now I want performance and a fast browsing experience but I hate when my Laptop starts to heat up just browsing websites due to huge resource usage.
Thank you!
Same. Wish there was a way to sync open tabs in macOS chrome with Safari on iOS.
It depends on your situation. I have the entire Apple ecosystem but
use my Mac as a second computer to a group of windows 11 systems. So for me at least, I use Edge as my browser on all my Apple devices. I get favorite sync and settings sync across all devices.
I never receive ads on YouTube with AdGuard. Maybe add more filters in the settings. I never have to click anything. I have a paid lifetime license though. Don’t know if that makes a difference.
Funnily enough, Safari seems to be more compatible with many sites I use than Chrome/Firefox. That said, the newest update to Chrome does run super smooth and quickly on the new M1 Pro...just still a memory hog sadly.
I was a a Chrome user exclusively but the last year I’ve taken opportunity to compare Safari and Chrome in terms of memory usage and while it hasn’t been a controlled experiment, Chrome always uses significantly more memory. I have 16gB on my Mac and Chrome will be using 6gB with just a few tabs open pretty frequently. It’s a pig.
On my mobile I’ve also used Brave and DuckDuckGo. DDG gives complete privacy. Zero data collected or sold.
On my mobile I’ve also used Brave and DuckDuckGo. DDG gives complete privacy. Zero data collected or sold.
I use Firefox (with Ublock Origin) first and Brave second. What I like about Firefox is that I can download the source code, make changes and play around with them for Firefox as I'm familiar with the code base. I like Brave because it has privacy by default in the browser. I've been using Firefox in various incarnations, since around 2001 when that teenager and three developers wrote it.
I have tried to pick one, but it's impossible.
Safari - Fast, Good keyboard maestro integration, reading list, passkey and security key support.
Firefox - Tons of useful extensions, tags for bookmarks, syncs outside of iCloud, so I can access bookmarks and tabs on my work computer where iCloud is disabled. Also can access bookmarks/extension on my Windows gaming PC.
Safari is my main browser, but I use Firefox too.
I used to use Chrome instead of Firefox, but lately they have made changes to the user interface that make it hard to manage bookmarks and my reading list. So, I went back to Firefox.
Safari - Fast, Good keyboard maestro integration, reading list, passkey and security key support.
Firefox - Tons of useful extensions, tags for bookmarks, syncs outside of iCloud, so I can access bookmarks and tabs on my work computer where iCloud is disabled. Also can access bookmarks/extension on my Windows gaming PC.
Safari is my main browser, but I use Firefox too.
I used to use Chrome instead of Firefox, but lately they have made changes to the user interface that make it hard to manage bookmarks and my reading list. So, I went back to Firefox.
I dropped Safari many years ago for one simple reason; I hated its full screen behaviour. Whenever I clicked on a video to make it fullscreen, Safari would create a new space. Firefox would just make the video fullscreen in the existing space. I don't know if that is still how Safari works, as I'm very happy with Firefox across all my apple devices.
I've been using Swizztube, from the App Store, with Safari and it successfully blocks EweTube ads. It has a couple quirks that I've figured out a workaround, and one that I haven't (can't open one YT in another window, then go back to the main page) but I can live with it.
Yes it still does that. I just tried it.
Creates a new space for the fullscreen video, and leaves the Safari window in the original space, showing "Click to exit fullscreen" on a grey background.
Ah, I thought when you were referring to space you were referring to a different desktop. See what you mean now.
I prefer Safari's method. Faster, really don't want to watch Firefox stretching the entire page until it discards the rest of the page to just display the video. Distracting.
I prefer Safari's method. Faster, really don't want to watch Firefox stretching the entire page until it discards the rest of the page to just display the video. Distracting.
This is a great thread. I hope that it continues on into 2025 and beyond!
Try Vivaldi. Firefox has stopped being customizable with version 57, and it won't be any better in the future.
I'm pretty die-hard with Safari. If I had to estimate, I'd say maybe 5% or less of websites I go to work badly or break with Safari. I guess everyone's personal mix would be different, but the vast majority of what I do works just fine. Still, yeah, you gotta have a backup browser around.