u/TuNutri

based on this post, i saw that many in the apple ecosystem are wondering which browser to choose. since safari comes pre-installed on apple devices, it can make you wonder if it's actually good or if it's just there because it belongs to the company, especially if it's your first device and you're not familiar with safari.

that's why i decided to do an analysis of safari, in case it helps anyone who’s unsure to either go for it or rule it out.

browsers are a "niche" within computing in general and mac in particular, so it's a very personal choice that depends on your usage. i’ve tried all the well-known ones on both windows and the apple ecosystem. for years now (even though i keep testing others), safari has been my daily driver for everything, and nothing has managed to replace it.

here's a list of pros and cons as honest as possible:

pros:

• it's way lighter than the rest. it uses fewer resources (memory, bandwidth, battery) than any other. the difference between safari and the rest is huge. for most people, this alone makes it the go-to choice.
• it's very secure. it has many privacy features that, from my point of view, are essential in a browser. it's your gateway to the web, so having that security layer matters.
• it's simple. no endless ai features, no constant recommended news, no integrated webapps, or any of those features that seem productive at first but end up being more intrusive than anything else.
• the design is very minimalist. not too many colors or buttons. you just open the browser and browse.
• easy access to passwords and apple pay. you just use touch id and it’s super convenient.
• great integration across devices. from any apple device, you can see, close, or create tabs on your other devices.

cons:

• fewer extensions. the library is definitely smaller than chromium or firefox. although in my opinion, the essentials are there (ublock, bookmark managers, cookie and popup blockers).
• no integrated ai. if you use ai as an assistant to analyze pages or text/images, there isn’t a built-in way to do it easily. you have to manually copy-paste the link into an llm, which isn't practical. apple intelligence is terrible and its chatgpt integration is still very poor and limited.
• not very customizable. if you like tweaking colors, specific designs, or complex workflows/sidebars, it’s not for you.
• some pages optimized only for chromium might glitch or look weird. i’ve only seen this a couple of times in six years, but it can happen on sites with low budgets for cross-browser optimization. that said, with more automated web design tools nowadays, this is becoming even more rare.
• it belongs to apple. for many, this is a dealbreaker. you might simply dislike the company or, for political reasons, prefer more transparent companies that are dedicated to user security beyond just profiting from them.