With the recent update to Opera 10.5 for Mac OS X, I decided it was time to take a look at all the major Web browsers for Mac OS X.
I’ve been using Google Chrome (developer builds, not the betas) for quite some time now, and made it my default browser within hours of installing it. Nevertheless, I’m going to remain unbiased in thoughts.
Below is my extremely thorough review and expert advice for which Web browser you should use in Mac OS X.
Chrome (most recent dev build or beta version)
Uber fast to launch. Smokin’ fast browsing speed. Compatibility is nearly perfect, but there are a few sites it doesn’t work with. Expansion via extensions is pretty good, and getting better every week. Frequent updates and improvements make it more fun to work with lately. The clean interface coupled with the speed make this my favorite, and you should use this as your main browser!
Download: Release Version | Beta Version | Developer Build
Safari 4.0.5
Looks great. Quite speedy. Completely lacks any usefulness beyond just surfing pages randomly. With no expansion opportunity beyond a few really crappy plugins, it’s feature-starved. Make it your backup browser though.
Download: Release Version
Firefox 3.63.
Looks clunky. Works clunky. Takes forever and 6 months to launch. It’s fast, but not as fast as Safari. The only real redeeming thing about it is the obnoxious amount of add-ons you can install to do virtually anything – which unfortunately makes it look and work even more clunky. Don’t bother with it unless you’re a geek and want all the extra add-ons.
Download: Release Version | Beta Version
Opera 10.52
Interface lacks polish. Just configuring all the options and preferences can take weeks. Speed ain’t all that. Buggy. It basically sucks and you shouldn’t even bother trying it.
Download: Shipping Version
The Rest of them
They all suck, don’t bother.
Download: Really, don’t bother.
67. I haven¡¦t checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I¡¦ll add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it friend 🙂
64 bits icab kicks ass it is the fastes web browser ever but i agree that fire fox is bad. But opera acualy is the safest web browser that there is even if it is slow. And chrome is kind of fast compared to safari. ICAB KICKS ASS!!!!!
Every browser in the last 3 years was speedy enough for me – it is nice to have but is the difference between 60 and 100 fps in a Javascript canvas animation of any importance. We simply don’t see any more than 30 fps, period! Also i really don’t care if i see the beachball waiting cursor for some ms when i’m using Firefox – which i rarely do because i like Safari’s lean but fully functional approach. Especially launch speed is so irrelevant – although Firefox 3 is slower it’s not like a loading screen in many games. How often do you launch your browser during one working session. Chrome 10 starts violating my user experience with it’s tabbed options screen (when will people understand that html and JS isn’t a solution to anything) – sometimes dialog windows are actually much more useful. A little bit of patience would be advisable in our hectic world, these few seconds have no gain in any way.
Chrome sucks pretty hard too. It has no RSS support and plug-ins that are already installed on the system and work in Safari and Firefox, Chrome says they are missing but offers no explanation as to what plug in is needed or where to get it.
I’m not sure why your install of Chrome has no RSS support, but it certainly does have it built-in – and has from day one. It also supports any standard plugin already installed, such as Flash, Shockwave, Quicktime, etc. You can try typing “About:plugins” into the URL box to get a list of installed plugins in Chrome, and activate them if for some reason they have been deactivated.
As a few of you have pointed out, this wasn’t a “review” but a venting of my rage at the lack of speed and/or expandability of most of the browsers for Mac OS X. Hopefully, it at least introduced a few Mac users to Chrome, which I happen to think is a very good browser.
Perhaps I should create a RANT category. That way nobody takes it too seriously.
I’m guessing that some people commenting don’t know the history of the “rants” and other commentary here. This is obviously another, as Sheryl above calls it, tongue-in-cheek article much like the post the other day about Adobe CS5.
Too Funny…
This “review” looks like it was written by an angsty, ignorant 12 year old.
I agree, but I also assume, from your line, “Below is my extremely thorough review and expert advice for which Web browser you should use in Mac OS X,” that this was just a tongue-in-cheek “review.”
One word for you loser: CAMINO
I have to disagree. I do want to use chrome but some of us with font management apps are seeing paragraphs and the like replaced by unreadable characters. Until that’s fixed it’s Safari for most browsing & Firefox for web development.
Looks like you have mentioned your own Personal experience and then you call it unbiased!!
Firefox works quicker on my iMac, i’ve been using it for 3 years; there might be a slight difference in performance however its not a hindrance to me.
Thats because i like to keep History of all browsed sites coz it makes it easier to search within than to search on google everytime for the same site (i know it can be bookmarked, i use it for some really important sites only).
I still use Netscape Navigator (v 9.0.0.2) and see no reason to change. By the way, my Mac is a Quadra 605 and my car is a Studebaker.
“Completely lacks any usefulness beyond just surfing pages randomly”
Seriously?
And it’s not up to you to declare yourself unbiased: that’s the readers’ job. And this reader says I don’t think that word means what you think it does.
This “review” looks like it was written by an angsty, ignorant 12 year old.