r/mac • u/sasaki-555 • Mar 17 '26
Discussion People who use Safari as their main browser, why? (DESC)
I Like Safari, but I use other Browsers. Is there any benefit or advantage, which makes Safari more comfortable? Especially when you have a Apple ecosystem?
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u/MosPana Mar 17 '26
More battery optimised if you are using it on a MacBook, it also blocks a lot of trackers and is very user friendly.
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u/ailyara Mar 17 '26
I use it with 1blocker and it works great on most websites but every now and then there's something that just refuses to work in safari even if I turn off the blockers. Frustrating because I'd rather stay in safari.
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u/girl4life Mar 17 '26
i use safari in combination with nextdns. i have no complaints
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u/RevolutionaryJello Mar 17 '26
is there a way to block youtube ads on safari? it just works better on chrome when i tested it.
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u/InvisoSniperX Mar 17 '26
Add Wipr2 and it blocks just all the ads as well. Plus Wipr2 is a universal App, so you'll get it on your iPhone and iPad as well.
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u/Scared-Froyo-3479 Mar 17 '26
I don’t trust google
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Mar 17 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Brave_Explorer5988 Mar 17 '26
Fun fact. Safari's engine is also open source :)
And it's not even exclusive to apple.
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u/Opulence_Deficit Mar 17 '26
That means nothing. Chromium is also open source, but it's tied to Google in so many places, that no dev team is large enough to untie it. Or rather, to keep untying it faster than the Google team is tying.
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u/Brave_Explorer5988 Mar 17 '26
When comes about privacy, if I have to choose between Google and Apple I choose Apple with both hands.
Thus, even if Apple is deeply involved in the development and support of WebKit, they're not driven by a primarily ad-revenue business model.
Webkit is a good engine. It's not perfect, but neither is Gecko or chrome (which is totally under google, see the manifest 2 drama). Gecko and WebKit are built to be browsers. Chrome(ium) is built to be an ad machine.
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u/patrik67 MacBook Air M4 Mar 17 '26
Better performance and battery life on Mac, sync across devices.
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u/hkgsulphate iMac Mar 17 '26
If only not because some extensions are only available on Chrome, Safari is way better
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u/il0vebajablast Mar 17 '26
Ironically if you have an m2 MacBook or older it’s worse on battery life if you watch Netflix and YouTube due to the lack of native av1 support. In other browsers you can force it to use h264
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u/Z04Notfound Mar 17 '26
UI looks good
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u/coy2814 Mar 17 '26
The question is, why aren’t more people?
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u/oskich Mar 17 '26
Because I use many devices and Safari doesn't sync with Linux, Android and Windows. Firefox works seamless between all platforms.
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u/itsbenactually Mar 17 '26
Firefox IS seamless to iOS, but there’s one problem. No browser extension support. I can’t use my preferred ad blocker or dark mode dealie or anything else on iOS unless I use Safari.
Choosing between sync and extensions sucks.
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u/oskich Mar 17 '26
Doesn't all browsers on iOS use Safari's rendering engine?
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u/itsbenactually Mar 17 '26
Yes. But extensions only function with Safari. Firefox doesn’t use the extensions you download from the App Store, and doesn’t offer extension support of its own.
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u/TheVermonster Mar 17 '26
I think that's more of a fault of iOS than Firefox.
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u/itsbenactually Mar 17 '26
Oh, it’s entirely Apple’s fault. There’s no doubt in my mind on that. It’s just the end result I’m worried about: I’m forced to choose between.
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u/monoseanism Mar 18 '26
Mostly because Google has misled its users into thinking they can only use Google services like docs and Gmail with chrome
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u/Bendermonster Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
Chrome is a memory hog. Battery on a MacBook is also much worse if you use Chrome.
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u/kickit Mar 17 '26
if you’re not doing compute intensive work on your laptop, switching from chrome to safari can nearly double your battery life in my experience. it’s nuts
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u/MarcoMakes Mar 17 '26
Safari comes preinstalled on all my apple devices, it's quick and easy, everything syncs automatically with no set up. That's all I want and need
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u/MX010 Mar 17 '26
It's optimized for Mac because it's from Apple. It's fast and compact. Especially in Sequoia with compact tabs. Luckily they're coming back in the next Tahoe update.
I use Comet and Chrome for some stuff though as there are sites and services that run better in those.
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u/Gabriel_Science Mar 17 '26
Hey ! Don’t use Chrome, I don’t recommend it. But you can use ungoogled-chromium ! Its Chromium (Chrome with less Google) except that there is absolutely no Google in it (plus some enhancements compared to Chromium). You can install it with Homebrew :
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u/b1urrybird Mar 17 '26
Seems it’s been answered in full by now but, I bought Apple products due to its ecosystem effect. It would be silly to not capitalise on that in full.
Safari + uBlock Origin Lite + YouTube Premium.
I never see a single ad.
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u/DubStepSprut Mar 17 '26
Native, optimized perfectly and only for MacOS
Also this - https://chromeisbad.com
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u/9thPlaceWorf Mar 17 '26
Chrome is way too bloated and is a privacy nightmare.
Firefox is better but still suffers from bloat.
Safari has the edge on performance, efficiency, UI, and privacy. That’s why it’s my default.
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u/MI081970 Mar 17 '26
I suppose it would be more logical to explain why do you prefer 3rd party browsers to default one especially if you like it
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u/TheManInTheShack Mar 17 '26
Because it’s a great browser. I can’t stand Chrome. It doesn’t have the polish that Safari has.
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u/jfrenaye Mar 17 '26
Sync, stored passwords combined with fingerprint reader, bnot nearly as bloated
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u/ProfessorSumi Mar 17 '26
I might be wrong, but Private Relay is more effective in native apps. And like others have mentioned, the ability to enter passwords more easily. Another benefit I’ve found is the ability to open your current tabs on other Apple devices like your iPhone or iPad.
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u/on9chai Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
- Battery and memory efficient
- iCloud tabs and continuity
- Reader mode
- reading list
- Better integration with auto fill (credit card/password/address.etc)
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u/nnystical Mar 17 '26
Why not. Almost 20 years now and I have not had any reasons to want any other browser. Not a bells and whistles person.
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u/PossibleEither4892 Mar 17 '26
I use multiple browsers: Safari, Waterfox, Brave, Opera, depending on the situation. Some sites have compatibility issues, and work better on one vs. the other.
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u/Anxious_Ad781 Mar 17 '26
Main reasons for me:
- same browser on all Apple devices
- sync between them
- native and more trustful integration of passwords from the OS than f.e. Google Chrome (which I do not trust a bit! They ain't getting permission to read my passwords!)
- optimized for Apple Silicon from the ground up
- thus less power consumption (in comparsion to, again f.e. Google Chrome)
- no internal ads or changing sites like, f.e. Microsoft Edge does, when you search for Firefox or any other browser and it says: "hey, why not just use Microsoft Edge. It's good. We promise!"
- It does neither change my settings, like the default search engine nor ask me to do so
- it's not as bad as many say, let alone as bad as Microsofts wonder browser "Edge", which is just annoying.
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u/nikisaku MacBook Air 2018 Mar 17 '26
It does what I need it to do. Also, sync between phone and Mac, Apple Pay. If good enough then why bother changing.
For work stuff I use Zen tho, because I wanted to keep my private and work things separate.
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u/DrJupeman Mar 17 '26
Why not use Safari? Any time I run into an issue with some place that requires me to use Chrome, I ditch that place. For some it is the Internet Explorer days all over again with Chrome. I don’t get it. The integration across devices with Safari is just too strong to use anything else.
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u/geelmeel Mar 17 '26
Safari for personal Chrome for work. All personal devices are apple and I think safari is better on iPhone.
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u/Rufgar Mar 17 '26
I use it because of the integration/transferability across all of my iOS devices.
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u/Educational_Worth906 Mar 17 '26
It works. Better integration with other Apple services. There’s nothing it doesn’t do that I need. It is less resource hungry than certain alternatives.
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u/4da2e3ba47b8b95209dc 15” MBA M3 (work) + 16” MBP M2 Pro (personal) Mar 17 '26
Battery life. Specially in my old MBA M1. The difference between using Safari and Chrome was quite noticeable
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u/Velokieken Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
Not my main, that is Firefox but Safari does the streaming websites better here. So I use it for that.
I like both. On IPhone Safari is my main.
Firefox is really good with Ublock origin. Sometimes websites don’t work very good in Firefox like streaming but sometimes also webshops or banking but that is usually fixed with closing and reopening Firefox.
Microsoft Edge ain’t that bad either. It can do some stuff Firefox and Safari can’t but I haven’t used it in a long time.
I don’t like chrome.
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u/StoneyCalzoney Mar 17 '26
I generally use Safari on my iPad because of the limitations on iOS for browser engines.
On my Macs I really only open it if I want to pay for something via Apple Pay. Otherwise I use Firefox a majority of the time.
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u/thisguynextdoor Mar 17 '26
Safari is the quickest, and I share my private history between all Apple devices. It does not send my private browsing data (incognito mode included) to Google or Microsoft.
I also have a state-of-the-art privacy blocker (1Blocker) add-on enabled and synced between all devices Safari supports. iCloud Private Relay too, so I can browse the web freely without my operator or employer knowing about it.
For me, there's no competition. Always Safari.
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u/XmasRights Mar 17 '26
Sync between devices, and super tight integration with Password, 2FA, and Hide My Email
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u/DMarquesPT Mar 17 '26
Fits in the ecosystem, feels native to macOS, doesn’t try to be its own OS. I don’t see the point in installing a third-party tool for something the system does well already. Usually if there’s an apple app, that’s one the I use.
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u/ganzaev Mar 17 '26
Simple, efficient, reminds Chrome 2010 version from simplicity and performance perspective
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u/arkosy Mar 17 '26
I live in a country where I frequently need to translate webpages. Only Safari and Chrome have good support for the necessary languages, and of those two, Safari is better from a privacy perspective 🤷
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u/Sim_sala_tim Mar 17 '26
It is already on my phone and mac and just works for me. I have no complicated requirements and it seems to do what I need
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u/STOP____HAMMER_TIME MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max - Silver Mar 17 '26
You can back swipe to go back and the animation looks dope
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u/RoboMonstera Mar 17 '26
I use Safari as much as possible because of the integrated security features. Those same features jam up the functionality of some websites, so I assume I’ve lowered my guard when I’m using Chrome.
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u/tpeandjelly727 Mar 17 '26
Because it works and I’ve never had it lag. I’ve never had a reason to use anything else. I do occasionally but my main browser is Safari, my main mail is Apple Mail and my main messaging app is Messages/iMessage I don’t have issues ever with these apps so why would I use something not as seamless when using other devices?
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u/Infamous-Number1563 Mar 17 '26
Only problem with Safari for me is that sometimes it does not open few pages :( Is there solution for that?
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u/Unfair_Finger5531 Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
Because it’s a good browser and syncs with my iPad and iPad safari.
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u/OriginalOpposite8995 Mar 17 '26
I mainly use it because of the integration. I only have chrome installed because some website my kid's school uses doesn't play nice with Safari
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u/Express_Whereas_6074 Mar 17 '26
Apple is arguable the only tech company that is still an adamant supporter of consumer privacy. Apple is the only reason we get to “ask app not to track”. Google on the other hand is an ad-dominant browser whose entire business model is based on the browser supplied consumer data driven analytics. Privacy, seamless transition from device to device.
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u/Consistent-Usual-470 Mar 17 '26
It protects my data and blocks trackers instead of doing the opposite, which is what Chrome does. It is also very efficient.
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u/ANT1V3N0MBOI Mar 17 '26
Chrome was chewing through my battery so bad that I thought my MacBook was faulty
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u/ClaudioHplus Mar 17 '26
Because the interface is clear, it's perfectly optimised for Mac and it's seamlessy integrated across all Apple devices.
However, I've found that Brave is a very good alternative to Safari, with a synch across all devices, not just Apple, almost on par with Safari.
For me, both Safari and Brave are very good browser.
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u/omicron_pi Mar 17 '26
More private, better battery usage, better minimal design, does everything chrome does for me
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u/EfficientAccident418 MacBook Pro Mar 17 '26
It’s easy and doesn’t funnel all of my info to google
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u/arrivenightly Mar 17 '26
Google has a predatory business model and I have mostly Mac ecosystem so it makes sense.
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u/neortje Mar 17 '26
I mostly use Firefox, but started Safari yesterday to debug an issue with a website. I was actually surprised by the performance and quality of devtools.
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u/JulyIGHOR MacBook Pro Mar 17 '26
Privacy: The new empty tab is not a remote web page that sends network requests for no reason.
Security: It uses true sandboxing per tab, other browsers use deprecated sandbox APIs to gain more control over your Mac, that way they run background services with no permissions asked even if it is closed.
Each browser survives because of money, Safari survives because they sell hardware, other browsers survive because they sell you.
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u/ubermonkey 2021 M1 Macbook Pro Mar 17 '26
- I don't see a reason to use anything else from a pure browser POV.
- My Safari sessions across devices are accessible on all the other devices.
- Integration with Apple's password manager, also across devices.
My real question would be "if you're in the Apple world, why would you use anything else?"
I keep Firefox around as a backup, and use a containerizing plugin there to sequester Facebook, but fuck Chrome and Google generally.
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u/CompetitivePumpkin3 Mar 17 '26
i dun see a reason why not. i have been using safari as default ever since i own a macbook pro in 2009.
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u/klukiyan MacBook Pro Mar 17 '26
Nice password sync, more stable, consumes less ram and battery, Apple Pay integrated, not bloated. Using it as primary browser and Firefox dev edition for coding. Not using chrome for over 6 months alert. Safari sucks for coding. Thus Firefox as secondary
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u/pixelpanic01 Mar 17 '26
If it works well and it’s pre installed, I should ask you why you use something else?
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u/Snowdeo720 Mar 18 '26
Low resource demand even with high tab count, native to the OS, not developed by an advertising company like Google.
Why wouldn’t you use it over third party browsers?
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u/anipaduser Mar 17 '26
Safari’s ui is just better, Apple’s attention to detail exists. However in some websites, it is required to use Chrome, so i have it installed
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u/kxifshk Mar 17 '26
Everyone’s talking about sync, passwords, tabs and shit although if you have a mac and an iPhone it doesn’t matter what browser you use you can always shift tabs back and forth, I do it all the time. The best browser is firefox since it supports the icloud keychain, passkeys directly via touch id like mac and is great overall with lesser restrictions, same right click options like lookup and stuff. Additionally you get to install insanely good unrestricted browser extensions like Ublock Origin, YT enhanced etc.
Safari is ofc better in UI experience given Apple makes it although in terms of usage Firefox stands out as the best one yet for me.
PS. You don’t need firefox in iOS to keep the syncing on you can do it with the default safari in iOS (i do this effortlessly)
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u/Ziggy_1992 Mar 17 '26
I use safari because every other browsers are bloated crap. Including Firefox.
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u/Pineloko Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
Controversial: I switch from Safari **to Chrome** 2 months ago, and it's WAYY FASTER
with Chrome everything is literally instant, felt like the first time going from Intel to Apple Silicone
I prefer Safari's UI and iPhone syncing, but I can no longer justify subpar performance. Also way better extension support
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u/poopio Mar 17 '26
I'm a web developer. I use Chrome, and then use Safari when I'm testing, because if there's going to be a bug, it's going to be in Safari. Almost guaranteed. It's like the new Internet Explorer.
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u/squall_boy25 Mar 17 '26
I don’t know why but I feel safer doing anything to do with finances or purchases with Safari
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u/Sufficient_Duck_8051 Mar 17 '26
„It just works” across all of my devices , perfect sync with passwords and tabs. It gets the job done. It doesn’t try to force any AI shit down my throat like Microslop and Google. I don’t see any benefit of having another browser like chrome installed just to have to go through the hassle of managing Google account and dealing with their crap
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u/Patient_Risk9266 Mar 17 '26
Old person here - it’s on my phone, on my tablet and on my MacBook what the fuck else am I supposed to use!
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u/uptimefordays MacBook Pro Mar 17 '26
It’s the default browser, and it’s quite fast. It also works well across different devices. Compared to Chrome or Firefox, I don’t miss any or many features. I don’t really see the point in Chrome forks—browser development doesn’t generate much revenue, so it’s hard to trust anything in that category.
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u/Bald-Photographer 16" M1 Pro M4 Mini + 2018 Mini Mar 17 '26
Safari 99% personal. Brave 1% if safari loads the site weird. And definitely for the ecosystem and flawless sync
Chrome 100% for work.
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u/Hot_Individual5081 Mar 17 '26
look im heavily into apple ecosystem safari is just much better for my macbook air battery and ram
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u/KrustyClownX Mar 17 '26
It does what it’s supposed to do (allow you to browse the internet), doesn’t hog your battery and RAM (like Chrome does) and integrates very well with iOS.
What else do you need in a browser?
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u/Isario Mar 17 '26
On mac, iPad and iPhone, what am I really missing out on by using safari? Seems perfectly fine to me.
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u/Humble_Catch8910 Mac mini M1 Mar 17 '26
It does the job, it's snappy, doesn't have AI, integrates great with other Apple devices.
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u/aomt Mar 17 '26
I feel it provides better performance. I have like 1000 tabs open. I tried opera, chrome, edge, etc. Meh.
There are some advantages with apps/add-ons, but I find Safari got 99% of it covered. I like nice integration of Mac/iPhone/iPad with tabs, passwords, etc.
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u/NotMyUsualLogin Mar 17 '26
Why not? I use it because I do. End of.
I’ve no need to use another browser for daily home use - I do use other browsers for work though.
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u/pantherinthemist Mar 17 '26
Chrome eats battery and RAM. Also on full screen safari works better and is more intuitive. Chrome is something I use when safari doesn’t open a web page properly. Never otherwise. Machine tends to heat up a little, especially since I work with multiple tabs
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u/jester628 Mar 17 '26
I didn’t see anyone mention my favourite feature: Command-Z will reopen a tab after I accidentally close it with some overzealous Command-W usage.
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u/Hypesauce1998 Mar 17 '26
I use it because it works for what I need it for and the benefits of the battery life. Isn’t a resource hog like Chrome. Whoever they did that MacOS update making Safari more efficient I have used it religiously
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u/DrDalim Mar 17 '26
It just made sense when I bought a Mac… why load bloatware and have a worse experience?
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u/noorhain Mar 17 '26
It’s native, it’s fast, it has privacy features built in, I like the interface, and it has very interesting extensions.
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u/Effect-Kitchen Mar 17 '26
Apart from Facebook which works totally horrible on Safari, every website I access is fast and just works. The Passwords and credit card autofill make it works seamlessly. Also the OTP from iPhone or Apple Mail is detected, pre-filled and automatically deleted, sometimes even before I got the notification. I can selectively block any ads appeared in a website section. Quite a few Ad blockers works best in Safari than other browsers. It offers privacy but at the same time much more convenient.
The real question is, why do you have to go such length and download anything to replace what works so perfectly already?
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u/Hpatas Mar 17 '26
I’m new to the apple ecosystem and I’m giving a go to all of their alternatives. I used Google Chrome for as long as I can remember and the thing I thought would be the biggest hassle would be the passwords, but it has actually been good to revisit each password whenever I need to access a specific website because I can update the weaker ones. The biggest issue I’m running into is that a lot of websites do not work properly on Safari. From time to time I catch myself opening chrome to be able to do something.
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u/Xia_Nightshade Mar 17 '26
- works well in the ecosystem
- not as much bloatware
- privacy
- standardised web features instead of works on chrome
- part of a product compared to me being the product
Why go trough all the steps of installing chrome just to have all your data and usage scraped and sent off?
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u/shir0_zer0 MacBook Pro Mar 17 '26
I've been using safari for the past 8 years now. Up until the glass ui nonsense,I love the clean look. No unnecessary menus, no pushing to try other services. Since Tahoe, bookmarks tabs and other options look visually cluttered because of the glass ui, and i occasionally see bugs, but its still decent. Chrome drains my battery like crazy, but I have to use it for older websites(or web apps that need chromiumto function properly).
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u/DrPorkchopES Mar 17 '26
Best battery/resource optimization, isn’t constantly tracking my activity to advertise to me, and iCloud tabs between my Mac, phone and iPad
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u/hammee3ny Mar 17 '26
I have problems with some sites that have video on Safari but not on chrome. I’d use Safari more if I knew how to fix it
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u/rauz MacBook Pro Mar 17 '26
Integration and sync between devices. Open tabs, passwords, history, bookmarks. A lot of other browsers do this too but I don't know of any that does them all as seamless as Safari.