Do you like using non apple browsers on the Mac?

[Sir Desmond]

I am not network expert, but Private relay (which adds more routes to the network's traffic) in theory should be slower AFAIK

Yes, that's exactly what I meant by the discrepancy in my usage.

Safari will use Private Relay, when it's turned on, which marginally slows down the connection speed.

Neither Orion, nor Arc Browser use Private Relay, even if it's turned on, hence a better connection speed.

 

[BobRey77]

I have never used anything other than Safari on my Macs and, until recently, never considered doing so. However, Safari has recently been having problems with video playback, particularly on Twitter. Videos won't play or they aren't sized properly. I have no idea what is causing this and haven't been able to find anything on Apple support or by Googling the problem. I think this is new with Ventura but I can't say for sure when it started. I will download Chrome and try that out as the problem is persistent and very annoying.

 

[Woodstockie]

At home/private I use Safari. For work Brave, they simply don't support Safari. I have FF on hand if needed.

 

[StellarVixen]

 

[johnkree]

I primarily use Safari as my browser, with Firefox as a backup option. I prefer not to rely on Chromium-based browsers due to their dominant market position, which could make them all vulnerable to a single critical security flaw. Also, I value my privacy and prefer not to share my data with too many critical apps, such as browsers, beyond what is necessary for my use of Apple products. If I had to use a Chromium-based browser, my choice would be Brave.

 

[dk001]

Multiple OS’s and work from home. Consistency is nice. Safari is far too OS limited.

Safari just doesn’t cut it especially in a validated/regulated environment. I use Edge and Chrome on all but my iDevices - those I am testing out Orion. So far not bad.
Apple needs to either fix Safari and allow it cross OS or open up MacOS/iPadOS/iOS to all other browsers.

JMO YOMV

 

[Pooneil]

Orion does seem faster but I always run into links that won't open. Flame me but I use Chrome more and more. It is fast and pages always work. I do use Safari for a lot of stuff because of iCloud integration and the built in password function which I guess is iCloud also. Arc I am sure is fine but the feature set is much more than I would want. It seems to be well made. Orion needs a ton of work.

 

[rukind2]

I use Firefox as primary on my Mac, Safari on my iPad and iPhone, and Chrome for two sites that require it for sign-in.

I'd like to use Safari as primary on the Mac but the Favorites Bar bookmarks are too small to read. I can set the screen to Actual Size or Zoom+, and neither view affects the Favorites Bar. The same applies to Firefox, but I can read the favorites more easily than on Safari.

If someone knows how to change Safari's Favorites Bar font size please let me know.

 

[ChedNasad]

I use Brave sometimes to block youtube ads on my work laptop. I have premium on my personal machine though so typically stick with just safari for the performance/battery impact being low.

 

[edubfromktown]

Yes.

1. Duckduckgo browser
2. SRWare Iron
3. Firefox (is ok but still does crazy things or crashes after too many years of cutting the darned thing some slack on OS X and macOS)
4. Chrome to login on my work 401-k site (requires it) and the other massive resource hog (Safari) only under extreme duress

 

[Pecka]

I prefer to use Safari, Firefox would be second choice.

 

[spacemnspiff]

Safari on work Mac and FF if Safari doesn't work. I haven't had to use FF much at all, most sites that I use work with Safari and I use 1Blocker with it.

 

[PauloSera]

I dont know about you but I hate it when I am forced to use a non apple browser on the Mac such as Chrome or Firefox. Some websites don't work properly with Safari and in these situations I need to use one. I also hate using non apple based email clients and much prefer using apple Mail. MS outlook does have its advantages but in reality it's a better product on Windows. You?

It's more than a little weird to feel this way. I see customers like you every now and then that freak out when they can't use Safari for some of the more advanced parts of our web apps. It's a giant eye roll.

 

[rocketbuc]

On my MacBook Air, I am using a combination of Wipr, DuckDuckGo Privacy, Hush (blocks cookie consent) together with the Lockdown VPN app (blocks all kinds of trackers + stops Facebook et al.). Works great and greatly increases the surfing speed as lots of stuff is not even loaded when accessing different sites.

June 2023 Update: Lockdown VPN app was updated and is now almost unusable! Half of the blockers are premium subscription features and the basic functionality keeps disconnecting frequently on our devices. If you have a viable alternative, please let me know... I am desperate for an alternative. Had such a great system working that is now totally broken.

 

[MacBH928]

It's more than a little weird to feel this way. I see customers like you every now and then that freak out when they can't use Safari for some of the more advanced parts of our web apps. It's a giant eye roll.

Why does your web app does not work on safari? This reminds me of IE days of early 2000. My understanding is that websites work on a standard languages, so it should work on all browsers?

June 2023 Update: Lockdown VPN app was updated and is now almost unusable! Half of the blockers are premium subscription features and the basic functionality keeps disconnecting frequently on our devices. If you have a viable alternative, please let me know... I am desperate for an alternative. Had such a great system working that is now totally broken.

There are other VPNs that offer same ad block service which are more reputable like Mullvad and Proton. You can block ads just like Lockdown but without VPN encryption for free by changing the DNS on your router to Adgaurds (
94.140.14.14
94.140.15.15)

and ControlDNS (76.76.2.2 , 76.76.10.2)

 

[MacMan988]

Lately, I've been giving a shot to Chromium-based browsers like Brave and Edge side by side. Gotta say, the YouTube experience feels way better on these browsers (since I practically live on YouTube). But here's the kicker: iOS lacks extension support, which totally hinders me from making them my go-to browser.

 

[MacBH928]

Lately, I've been giving a shot to Chromium-based browsers like Brave and Edge side by side. Gotta say, the YouTube experience feels way better on these browsers (since I practically live on YouTube). But here's the kicker: iOS lacks extension support, which totally hinders me from making them my go-to browser.

This is monopoly at its best, Apple gives their own browser extra advantage because they control the platform.

If adblock is all you looking for then Brave has built in one even on iOS

 

[Donoban]

I heavily use Chrome and Edge on all of my devices (Apple and non-Apple). They provide great functionality and cross-platform capabilities that make my online workflows seamless regardless of what device I'm using it.

If I didn't use chromebooks in the mix of devices, then Edge would be my sole and primary browser.

But Chromium-based browsers aren't for everyone. It DOES require a little knowledge of how those browsers work in order to keep them performing well and not be resource hogs.

You mean i just can’t use Safari as is?

 

[Donoban]

I had a job (my last one) that required Chrome use on all their Windows PC's so I had to use it.

Dude! Sucks to be you.

 

[Donoban]

Chromebooks? Are those any good compared to Windows? The tech guy at my church hates Apple and has chromebooks and Windows devices at the church.

Look at your kit! MacBook Pro, Apple TV, IPhone 13, etc…. time to find a new church. Lolz.

 

[erigoholidays]

It's totally people's choice or their preferences, In my opinion safari has browsing issue, so I prefer using chrome over safari because I can browse any websites.

 

[jedimasterkyle]

I've been a Firefox user for years and haven't had a need to switch. I tried and played with Safari and I really, really wanted to like it. There were some instances where Safari performed better than Firefox but those few and far between occurrences were not enough to get me to switch. Plus, Firefox's enhanced DNS controls are a big selling point for me.

I begrudgingly use Chrome when I absolutely have to though. For example, I renewed our passports online this year and the ONLY browser that would work was Chrome. Annoying but whatever. However, when I tried it with Safari, the site wouldn't load properly (for me) so I gave up using Safari.

I'm not saying Safari is a bad browser by any means but IMO, it's kind of the Internet Explorer of today. It does a good job of what its intended use is but there are better browsers that do more.

 

[MacMan2013]

I like Safari and use it 99% of the time on all my devices. I have Firefox as an acceptable backup on my Macbooks for those sites that don't work properly with Safari. I passionately hate Chrome, partially because I passionately hate Google and its big data tracking anti-privacy attitude - I wouldn't feel safe putting any personal information into anything Google have anything to do with.

 

[Gregg2]

Google seems worse as far as tracking, because they have many tentacles out there. But, virtually everybody is doing it. (I don't know of a tech company that doesn't.)

 

[MacBH928]

I begrudgingly use Chrome when I absolutely have to though. For example, I renewed our passports online this year and the ONLY browser that would work was Chrome. Annoying but whatever. However, when I tried it with Safari, the site wouldn't load properly (for me) so I gave up using Safari.

you can use brave.com , its basically Chrome without the Google spy code and its open source so every one can check there is nothing funny happening behind closed curtains.