Is there any real benefit to any other browser than Safari?

[ADGrant]

I use Chrome because:

1. I'm a developer and I have to use Chrome because it has far better dev tools than Safari
2. I'm too used to the Chrome UI to change

Funny enough, I use Safari on my iPhone. It's not really ideal in terms of browsing syncing for me.

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.

 

[souko]

Mainly Safari, sometimes Brave. Chrome only for YouTube.
I like UI of Safari most. For me most sites work in Safari.

 

[cnnyy20p]

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.

 

[Technerd108]

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!

 

[pgharavi]

This is exactly what I do.

Same. Wish there was a way to sync open tabs in macOS chrome with Safari on iOS.

 

[yukari]

I use Brave primarily (~65%), and also use Safari (~25%), and Firefox (~10%). Each has its own limitations and advantages.

I use Safari only when I want something that can be used across different platforms (e.g., between iPhone, iPad, and Mac).

 

[Chozes]

Firefox is top notch on M1.

 

[tdar]

I have read various reasons why people use Chrome and Firefox, etc.

I am not a fan of google snooping on everything I do. Firefox is good but not great.

I am asking if there is any specific benefit like better battery life, better 120hz display integration, better privacy, better speed, better resource handling, etc.

This is a serious thread and I am genuinely curious to people's feedback.

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.

 

[ingambe]

To those who complain about extensions, you can convert chrome extension to safari using xcode
Sponsorblock for example can be converted and used on Safari

 

[ingambe]

I mainly use Safari because of password sync with my iPad
I love Firefox and use it from time to time, especially because of the picture in picture mode. Also, Firefox is way faster than Safari on the M1 Pro

 

[Bandaman]

I use Adguard on Safari and it is a little weird but still works, you have to wait a few seconds at the beginning of a video before you can skip the ad but once you do you don’t receive anymore.

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.

 

[NdTonks]

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.

 

[pmccumber]

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.

 

[Mr Screech]

Firefox is unmatched in customization.
Non-fullscreen windows with zero bars on the top or bottom is only possible with firefox.

 

[pshufd]

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.

 

[jagooch]

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.

 

[Isamilis]

I use Edge together with Safari, for specific one reason only: to cast my screen to Chromecast.

 

[Ben J.]

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.

 

[BotchQue]

On my MBP I‘m using Firefox + uBlock for YouTube and Safari for everything else: Safari + Adguard somehow breaks YouTube completely, and so far I haven’t found a way around it.

Would love to use Safari full-time for the battery life benefits, but I may just switch to FireFox full time if I can’t get it sorted. Anyone here had better luck?

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.

 

[HDFan]

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.

No it doesn't. I've never seen that happen.

 

[Ben J.]

No it doesn't. I've never seen that happen.

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.

 

[HDFan]

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.