safari browser emulator for chrome

How to Emulate the Latest Safari Browser Online

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Browser emulators are ideal for testing how responsive a site is. The term ‘browser emulator’ refers to software that imitates the functionality of various web browsers. For instance, a Safari emulator aims to emulate Safari. 

Emulators help attain the exact look and feel of an actual Safari browser when a website is launched on it. Safari is a popular browser exclusive to Apple devices. Although Apple has discontinued its usage in other operating systems, users can download older versions if they want to test its features.

You need to use a cross-browser testing tool, a virtual machine, or an emulator to emulate Safari browser online. This helps evaluate if a website is working as per expectations.

Table Of Contents

• 1 Can You Run the Safari Browser on Windows 10 & 11?
• 2.1 Use a Virtual Machine
• 2.2 Use Cross-Browser Testing Tools
• 3 How to Test Safari Browser on Windows?
• 4.1 How to Emulate Safari on Linux?
• 5.1 How to Emulate Safari on Chrome
• 5.2 How to Emulate Safari in Firefox
• 5.3 How to Emulate Safari on Internet Explorer?
• 5.4 How to Emulate Safari on Edge?
• 6 Emulate Safari Browser Online 
• 8.1 Can you emulate Safari on PC?
• 8.2 How do I emulate a device in Safari?
• 8.3 How do I test Safari online?
• Can You Run the Safari Browser on Windows 10 & 11?

A segment of users wishes to use Safari as a default browser on Windows 10 and 11. This is because of its user-friendly design and speed. Safari runs parallel with popular browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox when it comes to its outstanding performance. However, there is a catch. 

Even if you can download Safari on Windows, you risk your system because you can face potential security issues. The overall performance of your PC might even get compromised if you download expired or old versions of the software. Apple, therefore, has discontinued offering Safari as a standalone browser for any other operating system, including Windows. 

However, you can install the browser as a substitute browser on any PC that runs the operating system of Microsoft from unofficial online platforms. Concludingly, we can say that there is currently no Safari emulator for Windows. 

No Safari emulator is dedicated to running on any version of Windows, be it Windows 10 or 11. However, many websites offer users the option of testing Safari on Windows.

How Can I Test Websites on Safari Without Mac? 

Safari has been deemed the second most popular browser in 2022 and is the native default browser of Apple devices. It is an ideal browser for testing any online product or site because of its fast responsiveness.

However, one of the biggest challenges most software testers and website developers face is the lack of a Mac (iMac or Macbook). You are primarily required to have a Mac for both automated and manual testing in the Safari browser because this browser is platform-specific.

To address this problem, you can use the following hacks to test your product on the Safari browser:-

Use a Virtual Machine

You don’t need to worry about not having a Mac to run your tests on the Safari browser. To do so, you can easily conduct them on a Windows local host with the help of a virtual machine by using your PC or system as the server. 

Numerous virtual machines are available for you to choose from, and they will run any browser inside Linux or Windows. 

All you need to do is configure a handful of settings at the hardware and the software level (choosing the amount of disk space and RAM to allocate to each OS). Your computer, however, needs to have enough power to sustain this configuration. 

Use Cross-Browser Testing Tools

It is imperative to run any website on multiple browsers to ensure a smooth-sailing experience for visitors. To overcome the challenge of testing websites on Safari without a Mac, you opt for cross-browser testing tools. These tools will allow you to see how the website functions and looks on multiple browsers in one go. It does not require additional costs and is ideal for testing various websites on Safari. 

What Tools Do You Use for Cross-Browser Testing? 

You can easily use special tools to test cross-browser compatibility. This will allow you to check the overall outlook of a website in numerous browsers as well as mobile devices.

Advantages of Cross-Browser Testing

The advantages of using a cross-browser testing platform are listed below:-

• It saves time: With cross-browser testing, you can check your website for any hidden bugs or glitches before launching it. This helps save money and time because it detects issues before publishing the website. 
• Test on local and on-premise machines: With cross-browser testing, you can run test cases and websites on any OS environment on any local system behind firewalls.
• Numerous test reporting procedures: You can choose any preferred reporting from videos, images, and the like for better understanding.
• Real test environments: You can seamlessly check your cross-browser compatibility on actual browsers to identify every kink and bug in your website or application.
• Secure customer privacy: These platforms take stringent measures to help maintain the privacy of every customer.
• Broad test coverage: Most platforms for browser testing are codeless because they are AI or NLP-powered. This helps in reaching a broader test coverage.
• Debugging is easy: The debugging features in cross-browser testing platforms are top-notch to help deliver bug-free websites seamlessly.
• Easy CI/CD integration: Most cross-browser platforms have convenient CI/CD pipelines for managing faster and continuous delivery.
• 24*7 test runs: Cloud-based cross-browser testing platforms help run test suites 24*7 to conduct faster and more efficient testing with the least effort.
• Requires no additional coding: You need not have prior knowledge of CSS or HTML coding for cross-browser testing. They are user-friendly and can even be used by beginners.

Common Cross-Browser Testing Tools

If you cannot use emulators or have access to actual devices, you can opt for cloud-based emulators. One of the biggest advantages of using cloud-based emulators rather than local emulators or real devices is automating unit tests for your site across various platforms. 

To make things easy for you, we have consolidated a list of top-tier testing sites and cloud-based emulators:-

Testsigma is a reliable and comprehensive test automation platform. With Testsigma, you can run automated tests for your applications and software seamlessly. It helps ensure the compatibility of your website or application across various browsers.

It is highly scalable as a cloud-based test automation platform where you can run parallel tests and even write automated tests in simple English. Besides, the platform is ideal for both visual and functional testing. We have listed some of the best advantages of using Testsigma as a cross-browser testing platform:-

• Covers over 2000+ native browser or device combinations
• Helps track issues with test logs
• Enables local testing functionality
• Runs automated tests in parallel and gets results fast 
• Performs automated screenshot testing and Video Responsive testing 
• Tools like Jira, Slack, and others are available for integration 
• Offers geo-location testing 

BrowserStack

BrowserStack is an online testing platform for seamless manual and automated testing. You need to choose an appropriate operating system, a device type, a browser version, and a URL for browsing. BrowserStack offers a reliable hosted virtual machine for user interaction.

You can easily run many emulators all at the same time without having to change screens. You can even test out the look and feel of your website or app across numerous browsers and devices. Some advantages you can reap out of using Browserstack as a cross-browser testing platform are as follows:-

• Ability to reproduce, debug and solve issues to launch bug-free websites and apps. 
• Built for all kinds of teams, starting from Engineering, Marketing, Product, Support, and Growth for testing, collaborating, and delivering quality.
• Highly scalable and can accommodate large teams for successfully shipping out applications and websites.

LambdaTest is another widely used online testing platform where users can perform manual cross-browser testing. You can run a combination of multiple operating systems and browsers at once. You can even record videos of complicated bugs and share them via Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more.

Besides, the platform allows you to speed up your testing by running parallel testing. Some of the best features are:-

• You can test multiple browsers on any OS environment or browser of your choice. 
• It has a highly scalable cloud infrastructure. 
• It is highly secure and reliable for performing automated cross-browser testing .
• It offers high execution speeds as well as fast, automated screenshots.
• With its handy reporting feature and detailed integration, you can easily analyze your test runs and immediately send reports.

BrowserShots 

Browsershots is an open-source online platform that offers developers an easy and user-friendly way to run tests for checking a website’s compatibility with a browser. It also allows screenshotting your web design in numerous operating systems and browsers. BrowserShots is completely free of cost, which is convenient for checking how your website looks across multiple browsers.

• How to Test Safari Browser on Windows?

Testing Safari Browser on Windows can be challenging because Safari is primarily designed for macOS and iOS platforms. However, there are a few approaches you can consider to test Safari on a Windows machine:

• Remote testing services: Utilize remote testing services such as BrowserStack or Sauce Labs, which offer virtual machines with different operating systems and browsers, including Safari on macOS. These services allow you to access and test Safari on real macOS environments directly from your Windows machine through a web browser.
• macOS virtual machines: Set up a macOS virtual machine (VM) on your Windows computer using virtualization software like VMware or VirtualBox. You can install Safari on the macOS VM and perform testing as you would on a native macOS environment.
• Remote access to macOS device: If you have access to a physical macOS device, you can remotely connect to it from your Windows machine using remote desktop software like TeamViewer, AnyDesk, or Chrome Remote Desktop. This allows you to control and test Safari on the macOS device without needing to physically access it.
• Cross-browser testing tools: Some cross-browser testing tools like BrowserStack or Sauce Labs offer a feature called “Interactive Testing” where you can remotely access and interact with Safari browsers running on real macOS devices from your Windows machine.

Cloud-based test automation platforms: Consider using a cloud-based test automation platform like Testsigma, which provides access to real macOS environments with Safari installed. Testsigma allows you to run automated tests on Safari Browsers without needing physical access to macOS devices.

Emulate Safari Across Other Different OS

There are separate pathways for different operating systems when it comes to emulating Safari. We have consolidated the best ways to emulate Safari on the following OS:-

How to Emulate Safari on Linux?

To emulate Safari on Linux, you can follow two methods.

• Installing Safari using WINE.
• Using WINE and PlayOnLinux provides a graphical user interface (UI) for WINE. 
• Using a virtual visualization application for cross-browser testing

Emulate Safari Using Various Browsers

There are several browsers available that users use at their convenience. This is why you must test it on every possible platform before launching your website or application. Down below, we have listed the various ways you can emulate Safari on numerous browsers:-

How to Emulate Safari on Chrome

To emulate Safari on Chrome, you can use websites such as TestingBot or Chrome extensions such as BrowserStack. BrowserStack is a very reliable solution that allows you to initiate testing sessions with a large number of device and browser combinations. You can immediately set up a Safari testing environment by clicking on the BrowserStack extension icon in your Chrome browser.

Alternatively, you can use these steps to emulate Safari using the Developer tools:

• Hit the Control + Shift + I keys to open the Developer tools environment
• Go to the Network tab and click on Network conditions
• Go to the User Agent section and unselect the ‘Use browser default’ radio button and click on the dropdown with the ‘custom’ label
• Scroll down till you can see the devices under Safari, and then select the device (Mac, iPad etc.) you want to emulate Safari with

How to Emulate Safari in Firefox

Firefox is notably one of the most popular browsers used by millions worldwide. If you want to emulate Safari in Firefox, you have to use visualization software which you can download as a browser extension or turn to a cross-browser testing website. The latter option is completely free of cost, hassle-free, and requires no technological prowess.

How to Emulate Safari on Internet Explorer?

Internet Explorer is one of the oldest browsers known to mankind. Although quite rarely used, it is still surprisingly used to this day. If you still use Internet Explorer to this day, you can emulate Safari on Internet Explorer with a cross-browser testing platform or an additionally installed extension. 

How to Emulate Safari on Edge?

Edge is a popular browser developed by Microsoft. You can emulate other browsers by changing the user string. If you want to emulate Safari on Edge, you need to follow the steps listed below:-

• Open Microsoft Edge and visit the link you wish to test
• Hit the F12 key to open the Developer tools environment
• Go to the User Agent section and unselect the ‘Select automatically’ radio button and click on the dropdown
• Scroll down till you can see the devices under Safari and then select the device (Mac, iPad etc.) you want to emulate Safari with
• Emulate Safari Browser Online 

Although the ideal way to emulate Safari is by using an open-source testing platform, some other ways to do the same have been listed below:-

• Using browser widgets
• Downloading older versions of Safari, like Safari 5.1.7 or previous versions 

Every application or website is built using codes using HTML, JavaScript, or CSS elements. Since they are launched online, it is impossible to ascertain which user will use which browser. Safari has its own technology, comes with its own set of challenges, and interprets every application in its own way. 

Therefore, to ensure that your website or application runs smoothly on Safari, you need to conduct cross-browser testing to maintain consistency in its display and functionality. Running automation tests is also integral to software testing. Testsigma is a great platform for seamlessly running automation tests. 

Frequently asked questions

Can you emulate safari on pc.

The Safari Browser has now been limited only to macOS and iOS. However, you can easily emulate this browser on Windows or any other OS by using a virtual machine with your computer as the server. 

How do I emulate a device in Safari?

To emulate a device in Safari, you can use the Simulator added with Xcode and debug/inspect those reviews remotely by using the Develop menu in Safari.

How do I test Safari online?

To run a website on a Safari browser without a Mac, you can use a cross-browser testing tool or an online testing platform. 

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Browserling - Cross-browser testing

Cross-browser test websites in the most popular browsers such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera. Try for free!

Browserling is a live interactive cross-browser testing service that provides effortless cross-browser testing for web developers and web designers. There are many different browsers and operating systems and Browserling provides quick access to all the most popular browsers on the most popular operating systems. Users can just go to www.browserling.com select a browser and start testing their website. It's that simple! This extension makes it even simpler. Once installed it lets you test the current website that you're browsing. Just click the extension, choose platform, browser and version, and you can start testing! Currently supported Windows operating systems: * Windows XP * Windows Vista * Windows 7 * Windows 8 * Windows 8.1 * Windows 10 Currently supported Android versions: * Android 4.4 KitKat * Android 5.0 Lollipop * Android 5.1 Lollipop * Android 6.0 Marshmallow * Android 7.0 Nougat * Android 7.1 Nougat Soon we'll also Android 8.0 and 8.1, OSX, iOS, and Linux browsers. Supported Browsers: * Edge * Internet Explorer * Google Chrome * Mozilla Firefox * Apple Safari * Opera Happy cross-browser testing! Our privacy policy: https://www.browserling.com/privacy-policy

3.1 out of 5 69 ratings Google doesn't verify reviews. Learn more about results and reviews.

Ethan Walter Mendelson Feb 6, 2023

The negative reviews are people salty that this is a paid service with a free demo. It works fine. My use case is for testing sketchy links without using a virtual machine/external sandbox. Minus one star because right-click integration on links would add convenience over copying a link into the extension.

Alexander G.M. Aug 15, 2020

Incredible extension, 3 minutes seems a bit short but an overall add if you want to test a website or safely surf the web

FangerZero Jan 24, 2020

I wanted to use it since I have to use a mac at work and thought it'd be a quick easy way to potentially check an issue Im having only on Windows Chrome/Firefox. But it doesn't even work.

• Version 1.0.2
• Updated August 31, 2018
• Report a concern
• Size 316KiB
• Languages English
• Developer Website
• Non-trader This developer has not identified itself as a trader. For consumers in the European Union, please note that consumer rights do not apply to contracts between you and this developer.

Create grids and measure their distance easily.

CrossBrowserTesting Local Connection

CrossBrowserTesting Local Connection lets you test behind your firewall in 1500+ real desktop and mobile browsers.

Viewport Resizer – Responsive Testing Tool

Responsive design testing tool to test any website’s responsiveness – it only takes 2 seconds! Emulate various screen resolutions.

PerfectPixel by WellDoneCode (pixel perfect)

This extension helps develop your websites with pixel perfect accuracy!

BrowserStack

Instantly test your webpage on any desktop or mobile browser.

CrossBrowserTesting GO

Instantly test any site on over a thousand platforms offered at CrossBrowserTesting.com

Perform Live Interactive and Automated Cross Browser Testing on 2000+ Real Browsers and Operating Systems

RITE - Robustest Integrated Testing Environment

Page load time

Displays page load time in the toolbar

User-Agent Switcher

Switches User-Agent strings to mimic, spoof or fake other browsers or bots.

The responsive design browser

Test websites in all versions of real Internet Explorer (IE6 - IE11) and Edge straight from Chrome browser, through BrowserStack.

SAFARI BROWSER TESTING

Test your websites on safari (versions 8-16) with real devices and emulators/simulators.

Testing your websites and apps with real devices and emulators/simulators on Safari is the best method for detecting bugs and fixing them before they impact your users. Automate Safari browser testing with Sauce Labs so you can spend more time coding and less time running tests.

Deliver seamless web & app experiences with Safari browser testing

Safari is one of the most-used web browsers in the world making up 18% of the browser market share. That's why it's important to test your web and mobile applications on Safari to ensure they work as expected. But with the complexity of today’s web applications, this may be more difficult than it sounds. Older browser versions cannot display the graphics and apps that modern web pages use. With this in mind, you need to test your web apps to ensure they render as designed across all the different web browsers, operating systems, and mobile devices that your customers are likely to use. To do this effectively you need access to a wide variety of browsers, OSes, and mobile devices to test these different versions of Chrome.

A faster, more reliable and efficient Safari testing process

Sauce Labs can run tests in parallel across hundreds of browsers, operating systems, and real device combinations. We offer browser emulators for all versions of Safari, from version 8 to the latest beta and dev releases, so you can release your apps to customers with confidence.

Zero maintenance

We support and maintain your test infrastructure in the cloud so you don't have to. Focus on testing your apps and websites while we stay up-to-date with the latest browsers, operating systems, emulators/simulators, and real devices.

Parallel testing

Our cloud-based continuous testing platform is optimized so you can run multiple test suites in parallel across every browser and OS combination you need.

Live testing + Dev Tools

Validate functionality and user experience in real time with live testing on thousands of emulators/simulators, real devices, and browser/OS configurations. Diagnose and debug quicker with Chrome DevTools and Safari Web Inspector.

Integrated results

Play a video recording of your entire test or flip through screen shots. Selenium logfiles and metadata for each test make it easy to share results with dev teams and debug faster.

Supported browser emulators

Sauce Labs supports 1,700+ emulators and simulators plus real devices for testing your web and mobile apps.

iOS simulators

Android emulators

What our customers are saying.

Hear why developers and testers love Sauce Labs for Safari browser testing

Thanks to Sauce Labs, we are able to ensure that our apps work on over 700 browser/ OS combinations, 172 device emulators and over 300 unique real devices.

Pranav Verma

Sr. Engineering Manager

Get started with Sauce Labs Safari browser testing today

How to Simulate Mobile Devices with Device Mode in Chrome

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Developer Tools

Touch-enabled emulation, the mobile emulator device toolbar, css media query bars, emulated device options, bandwidth throttling simulation, emulated mobile sensors, remote real device debugging.

• Great! I Don’t Need Any Devices Now!

FAQs About Chrome Mobile Emulator

Website testing has become increasingly complex. The days of checking functionality in a couple of browsers are long gone. Your latest masterpiece must be rigorously evaluated on a range of mobile, tablet and desktop devices with differing OSs, screen resolutions, and capabilities. In extreme cases, it could take as long as the original development.

The process is complicated further by touch screens, hybrid devices, and high-density displays. If you’re coding on a regular PC with a mouse and keyboard, it’s difficult to appreciate how your interface will operate. Features such as mouse hover won’t necessarily work and your application could be inoperable. But how can you test your code on a range of operating systems during development and avoid the pain of managing and switching between multiple devices?

Fortunately, all modern browsers offer mobile emulation tools, and one of the best can be found in the Chrome browser. It can help identify early problems without leaving the comfort of your PC and development environment.

Start Chrome, navigate to the web page you want to test and open the Developer Tools (Menu > Tools > Developer Tools, Cmd + Opt + I on macOS or F12 / Ctrl + Shift + I on Windows and Linux).

You can now enable the browser emulator by clicking the Toggle device toolbar icon in the top left:

A device simulation will now appear:

While not quite an iOS or Android emulator, a number of mobile devices running both platforms can be selected as presets. The dimensions of the emulated screen can be changed when Responsive is selected as the device type.

Move your mouse over the device to see a circular “touch” cursor. This will react to touch-based JavaScript events such as touchstart , touchmove and touchend . Mouse-specific events and CSS effects should not occur.

Hold down Shift then click and move your mouse to emulate pinch zooming.

It’s worth spending a little time familiarizing yourself with the toolbar and menu above the Chrome emulator:

The default controls are:

• the device type (or Responsive )
• the current resolution
• the scale (the screen can be zoomed in or out to fit better in the emulator pane)
• the network speed
• a portrait/landscape toggle button

The three-dot menu allows you to show or hide additional controls:

• the device frame (if available, a graphic of the phone or tablet)
• CSS media query bars (see below )
• a pixel ruler
• add device pixel ratios
• add device types
• capture a screenshot (including the device frame if shown)
• capture a full-page screen shot

Select Show media queries from the three-dot menu to view a graphical color-coded representation of all media queries set in the CSS.

• BLUE: queries which target a maximum width
• GREEN: queries which target widths within a range
• ORANGE: queries which target a minimum width

Any bar can be clicked to set the emulator screen to that width.

The drop-down menu on the left allows you to select a device. Several dozen presets are provided for popular smart phones and tablets, including iPhones, iPads, Kindles, Nexus tablets, Samsung Galaxy, and so on.

Not all devices are presented at once. Click Edit… at the bottom of the device drop-down or click the DevTools Settings cog icon and choose the Devices tab:

You can enable or disable devices or enter your own by defining:

• a classification such as “Mobile” or “Tablet”
• a browser user agent string
• the device resolution
• and pixel ratio (such as 2 for iPhone Retina screens where the pixel density is twice as high as the reported viewport resolution)

All browsers identify themselves with a user agent string sent on every HTTP header. This can be examined on the client or server-side and, during the dark days of web development, would be used to modify or provide a different user experience. In extreme cases, the viewer would be directed to a different site. The technique was always flawed but has become largely redundant owing to Responsive Web Design techniques, and it was unsustainable given the number of devices available on the market.

The throttling drop-down allows you to emulate slow network speeds typically experienced on mobile connections or dodgy hotel and airport Wi-Fi! You can use this to ensure your site or application loads quickly and remains responsive in all environments.

The throttling drop-down is available in the Network tab and Chrome’s device toolbar. You can set your own bandwidth configuration by clicking the DevTools Settings cog icon and choosing the Throttling tab:

Click Add custom profile then enter:

• the profile name
• the download speed in kilobits per second
• the upload speed in kilobits per second
• the latency in milliseconds (the typical delay when making a network request)

Smartphones and tablets often have sensors such as GPS, gyroscopes, and accelerometers, which aren’t normally present in desktop devices. These can be emulated in Chrome by choosing More tools , then Sensors from the Developer Tools main three-dot menu:

A new pane appears which allows you to define:

• The current latitude and longitude or select a major city from the drop-down. You can also select Location unavailable to emulate how your application reacts when the device cannot obtain a reliable GPS signal.
• The orientation. Several presets are available or you can move the device image by clicking and dragging.
• The touch response.
• An idle state to examine how an app reacts to a lock screen.

Finally, Google Chrome allows you to connect a real Android device via USB for remote device debugging. Enter in the address bar, ensure Discover USB devices is checked, then attach your phone or tablet and follow the instructions.

Chrome allows you to set up port forwarding so you can navigate to a web address on your local server on the device. Chrome’s preview pane shows a synchronized view of the device screen and you can interact either using the device or Chrome itself.

The full range of developer tools can be used including the Application tab to test Progressive Web Apps in offline mode. Note that, unlike a real application which requires HTTPS, Chrome permits PWAs to run from localhost over an HTTP connection.

Great! I Don’t Need Any Devices Now!

Chrome’s mobile browser emulator is useful and powerful, but it’s no substitute for interacting with your website or app on a real device to evaluate the full user experience.

You should also be aware that no device emulator is perfect. For example, Chrome shows a representation of the page on an iPhone or iPad but will not attempt to simulate the standards support or Safari quirks.

That said, for quick and dirty mobile testing, Chrome’s device emulation is excellent. It’s far easier than switching between real smart phones, and you’ll have all the developer tools at your disposal. It saves hours of effort.

What is Chrome Mobile Emulator?

Chrome Mobile Emulator is a feature provided by the Google Chrome web browser that allows users to simulate the experience of browsing the web on a mobile device directly from their desktop or laptop computer. This emulator is a part of the Chrome Developer Tools, a set of built-in tools designed to assist web developers in testing and optimizing their websites and web applications. With the Chrome Mobile Emulator, developers can select from a range of predefined mobile device profiles, such as various Android and iOS devices, and view their websites as they would appear on those specific devices. It allows developers to test responsiveness, ensuring that their websites or web apps adapt and display correctly on a variety of mobile devices. Chrome Mobile Emulator serves as a valuable tool for web developers, helping them ensure that their websites and web applications are mobile-friendly and provide a seamless user experience across a wide range of mobile devices. It accomplishes this by offering a comprehensive set of emulation features within the Chrome Developer Tools, making it easier to develop and optimize mobile web content without the need for physical access to multiple devices.

How to simulate a mobile device on Chrome?

To simulate a mobile device on the Google Chrome web browser, you can use the built-in developer tools. Here’s how to do it: Open Developer Tools: There are several ways to open Chrome’s Developer Tools. You can press F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I ( Cmd+Option+I on Mac) on your keyboard. Alternatively, right-click on a web page element and select “Inspect” from the context menu. You can also go to the Chrome menu (three dots in the top-right corner) > More Tools > Developer Tools . Toggle Device Toolbar: In the Developer Tools panel, you’ll find various tabs at the top. Look for the “Toggle Device Toolbar” icon, which is usually represented by a small device icon. It’s commonly located in the top-left corner of the Developer Tools panel. You can also activate it by pressing Ctrl+Shift+M ( Cmd+Option+M on Mac) on your keyboard. Choose a Device: Click on the “Toggle Device Toolbar” icon, and you’ll see a toolbar appear at the top of the web page. This toolbar allows you to select a specific device or device type from the dropdown menu. You can choose from various Android or iOS devices. Additionally, you can toggle the device orientation between portrait and landscape and adjust the viewport dimensions by clicking on the dimensions display. You can select from available presets or enter custom dimensions. Reload the Page: After selecting the desired device and orientation, you can simply refresh the web page you’re viewing. Chrome will then render the page as if it were displayed on the selected mobile device. You can interact with the page and test its responsiveness just as you would on a real mobile device. Access Additional Features: Within the Device Toolbar, you can use the “Network Conditions” tab to simulate different network speeds and conditions. This helps you evaluate how your website or web application performs under various network conditions. Additionally, the “Sensors” tab allows you to simulate various sensor inputs, such as geolocation.

Why is Chrome Mobile Emulator not accurate?

Chrome Mobile Emulator may not provide perfect accuracy in simulating the user experience on real mobile devices for several reasons. It primarily emulates the behavior of the Chrome browser, which may differ from other browsers used on mobile devices. Additionally, emulators cannot fully replicate hardware capabilities, varying operating systems, network complexities, and device-specific behaviors. Interaction methods, such as touch events, might not precisely mimic real devices. Moreover, emulators may not always keep up with the latest updates and changes in browsers and devices. While valuable for initial testing, using actual mobile devices for testing remains crucial to ensure a more accurate assessment of website or app performance across diverse platforms.

Can Chrome emulate Android?

Yes, Chrome Mobile Emulator is a feature provided by Chrome that allows users to simulate the experience of browsing the web on a mobile device directly from their desktop or laptop computer.

Craig is a freelance UK web consultant who built his first page for IE2.0 in 1995. Since that time he's been advocating standards, accessibility, and best-practice HTML5 techniques. He's created enterprise specifications, websites and online applications for companies and organisations including the UK Parliament, the European Parliament, the Department of Energy & Climate Change, Microsoft, and more. He's written more than 1,000 articles for SitePoint and you can find him @craigbuckler .

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Your job doesn't end with making sure your site runs great across Microsoft Edge and Android. Even though the Device Emulation tool can simulate a range of other devices such as smart phones, we encourage you to check out solutions for emulation provided by other browsers.

When you don't have a particular device, or want to do a spot check on something, the best option is to emulate the device right inside your browser.

Device emulators and simulators enable you to mimic your development site on a range of devices, from your workstation.

Cloud-based emulators enable you to automate unit tests for your site across different platforms.

Browser emulators

Browser emulators are great for testing the responsiveness of a site. But a browser emulator doesn't emulate differences in API, CSS support, and certain behaviors that manifest only on a mobile browser on an actual device. Test your site on browsers running on real devices, to be certain everything behaves as expected.

Firefox Responsive Design View

Firefox has a responsive design view that encourages you to stop thinking in terms of specific devices and instead explore how your design changes at common screen sizes, or on your own screen size by dragging the edges of the window.

EdgeHTML emulation

To emulate Windows Phones, use the Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML) built-in emulation .

Use IE 11 Emulation to simulate how your page might look in older versions of Internet Explorer.

Device emulators and simulators

Device simulators and emulators simulate not just the browser environment but the entire device. Each simulator is useful to test things that require OS integration, such as form input with virtual keyboards.

Android emulator

At the moment, there is no way to install Microsoft Edge on an Android emulator. However, you can use the Android Browser, the Chromium Content Shell, and Firefox for Android, which we review later in this article. Chromium Content Shell runs the same Chromium rendering engine as Microsoft Edge, but comes without browser-specific features.

The Android emulator comes with the Android SDK which you need to download as part of Android Studio . Then follow the instructions to set up a virtual device and start the emulator . After your emulator is booted, select the Browser icon, and test your site on the old Stock Browser for Android.

Chromium content shell on Android

To install the Chromium Content Shell for Android, keep your emulator running and run the following command:

Now you can test your site with the Chromium Content Shell.

Firefox on Android

Similar to the Chromium Content Shell, you can get an APK to install Firefox onto the emulator.

Download the correct .apk file .

To install the file onto an open emulator or connected Android device, run the following command:

iOS simulator

The iOS simulator for Mac OS X comes with Xcode, which you install from the App Store .

When you are done, learn how to work with the simulator through Apple Developer documentation .

To avoid having to open Xcode every time you want to use the iOS Simulator, open it, right-click the iOS Simulator icon in your dock, and then select Keep in Dock . Now just click the icon whenever you need it.

Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML)

If you need to test your website or app with Microsoft browsers and don't have the necessary versions of Windows to do so, you can use BrowserStack, which supports testing of many combinations of Microsoft browsers and operating systems both past and present. For example, you can test all versions of Microsoft Edge (Chromium) from version 80 onwards, and Microsoft Edge (EdgeHTML) versions 15 through 18. Testing of Microsoft Edge is free on BrowserStack. For more information, see Microsoft Edge Browser Testing at BrowserStack.

Cloud-based emulators and simulators

If you aren't able to use the emulators and you don't have access to real devices, then cloud-based emulators are the next-best thing. A big advantage of cloud-based emulators over real devices and local emulators is that you can automate unit tests for your site across different platforms.

The following list is a sample of cloud-based emulators and testing sites. Review the descriptions for features or capabilities to consider when selecting a testing site. Conduct your own search to find the best cloud-based emulator for your needs.

BrowserStack helps you perform manual testing. You select an operating system, a browser version, a device type, and a URL to browse, and then BrowserStack spins up a hosted virtual machine that you can interact with. You can run multiple emulators in the same screen, to test the look and feel of your app across multiple devices at the same time.

Mobileum doesn't use emulators, but real devices which you can control remotely. This is useful when you need to reproduce a problem on a specific device and an issue might not appear in some reports.

HeadSpin helps you perform manual cross-browser testing on thousands of real devices, browsers, and operating systems. You can record videos of complex bugs and share them through integration such as Slack, JIRA, and more. Fast forward your go-to-market launch by testing in parallel.

LambdaTest helps you perform manual cross-browser testing on a combination of various browsers and operating systems. You can record videos of complex bugs and share them through integration such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and more. You can speed-up your testing by running tests in parallel.

SauceLabs enables you to run unit tests inside of an emulator, which can be useful for scripting a flow through your site and watching the video recording of this afterwards on various devices. You can also do manual testing with your site.

TestingBot helps you do both manual testing and automated testing on various browser and operating system combinations. Test both your websites and mobile apps on TestingBot's emulators and physical devices.

Portions of this page are modifications based on work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License . The original page is found here and is authored by Meggin Kearney (Technical Writer) and Paul Bakaus (Open Web Developer Advocate at Google | Tools, Performance, Animation, UX).

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Additional resources

Browser Emulator and Simulator by Browserling

What is a browser emulator.

A remote emulator is a browser that emulates a popular native browser. For example, an Internet Explorer emulator would emulate the feel, look, and behavior of a real Internet Explorer. Similarly, a Chrome browser emulator would emulate a Chrome/Chromium browser, and a Firefox emulator would emulate a Mozilla Firefox browser, and the same applies to Safari, Opera, Yandex, and Brave emulators.

What is a browser simulator?

A browser simulator is exactly the same as a browser emulator and it's just a synonym. For example, a Safari simulator is a fake browser that behaves like a native Safari but it's not a real Apple browser.

Why use a browser emulator/simulator?

Browser emulators/simulators are primarily used in cross-browser testing . Developers and QA teams often don't want to install a bunch of real browsers, so they install a browser emulator or a browser simulator software package. This package installs software that tries to behave like a real browser but it often has glitches and doesn't really work like a real browser because real browsers are much more complex. The result is that an emulator/simulator produces results that are close to a real browser but it doesn't really render a web page exactly like the original native browser. That's why it's best not to use an emulator or a simulator and it's recommended to stick to real browsers.

Try a real browser!

At Browserling, we offer real browsers for testing. We run our browsers on real servers and offer quick access to them through a browser-in-browser user interface. You can use the following form to get a real browser running on a real computer:

When you load a browser, you'll be on our free trial version that limits the browser sessions to just three minutes. You can unlock unlimited browser sessions and more real platforms and real browsers by getting a developer or team plan .

Our customers who have a developer or team plan include:

Browser Emulator/Simulator FAQ

How stable are browser emulators/simulators.

Browser emulators and simulators aren't stable at all and don't offer any advantage over real browsers. They are simple to download and install but the results often don't' match real browsers. That's why it's recommended to use real browsers.

How are you able to offer real browsers?

At Browserling, we focus on real browser testing. We run a bunch of servers with all possible operating systems and all possible browsers and their versions and we developed technology that lets you quickly connect to one of our servers and access the browser you need. Instead of using fake browser emulators and simulators, we took the hard route and maintain installations of all possible browsers.

Which real browsers do you have available?

Our team at Browserling has installed real browsers that cover 90% of all use cases. There are all Internet Explorer versions, then the latest version of the Edge browser, all versions of Google Chrome , all versions of Mozilla Firefox , all versions of Opera , and several Safari versions.

Do you run operating system emulators?

No, we don't run operating system emulators. We have installed actual operating systems on our servers and offer the following operating systems – all versions of Microsoft Windows and all versions of Google Android . In the upcoming months, we'll also be offering iOS and OSX.

Have you considered making your own browser simulator?

No, we haven't considered making our own browser simulator. It would be economically unfeasible as it would offer no advantage over a real browser.

Does Live API work with real browsers?

Yes, Live API that we created works only with real browsers. You can put a real browser in your own browser and browse while you browse. Meta-recursive and mind-blowing.

Any other questions about browser emulators or browser simulators?

Please contact us at [email protected] or use our contact form . Thank you!

Cross-Browser Testing Tools (Free, Open Source, Paid)

October 2, 2023 Software Testing Magazine Software Testing Tools 6

When today’s applications run on various browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.) on different mobile or desktop devices with specific screen settings. This is why you need to perform cross-browser testing for your automated tests . This article lists the main desktop or online cross-browser testing tools available today. Some of these tools are open-source, some are commercial with a free plan. Use our contact form to make us aware of some cross broswer testing tools that we should add to this list.

Cross-browser testing is a software testing activity that check the quality of web applications across multiple browsers, devices and operating systems. Screen size, screen resolution, OS version, browser versions, JavaScript and CSS languages support are elements that impact how your users are viewing content on a moblie phone, a tablet or a desktop screen. Cross-browser testing helps you to understand and verify these different user experiences for the main devices and system used by your target audience.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when looking for a cross-browser testing tool:

• Are you testing on real devices vs. emulators/simulators?
• How many browsers, devices and operating systems are supported by the platform?
• How can you test: writing your own scripts, with a record & replay tool or supporting an existing software testing framework like Selenium?
• How much software testing power or which features do you need and get in the pricing plans: number of users, virtual location, testing time, parallel usage, support, external tool integration (bug tracking, continuous integration, test management, …), analytics, etc. ?

* October 2 2023 Added Colin Creevey, Datadog, Momentum Suite * June 26 2022 Added Headspin, Telerik Bitbar replaces CrossBrowserTesting.com, Experitest is renamed Digital.ai * September 27 2021: added Applitools, Ghost Inspector, Virtuoso

Applitools leverages Visual AI for a fresh approach to cross browser testing that is fast, secure, and stable with its Ultrafast Test Cloud. With Ultrafast Grid, you run your functional and visual tests once locally and it instantly renders all screens across all combinations of browsers, devices, and viewports. This is all done with security, stability, and speed, and with virtually no setup required. Website: https://applitools.com/

BitBar is an online testing service that allows testing on more than 2000 different browser, device, OS, and resolution combinations, either in live testing sessions or with automated tests using frameworks like Selenium or Appium. You can interact, swipe, and explore your website on real devices, making sure your customers get the right experience. You can make testing easy by recording sessions, focusing on actually finding bugs instead of documenting them. in just seconds. Website: https://smartbear.com/product/bitbar/

Browsera is an online cross-browser testing service that detects visual discrepancies between how different browsers display your website. Browsera will notify you of possible cross-browser layout problems it finds while testing your site. Instead of having to check out each screenshot on your own, you get a report detailing which pages have potential problems. You can quickly see the problems indicated as each screenshot is highlighted in the problematic areas. Website: http://www.browsera.com/

Browserling

Browsereling is a cross-browser testing tool that performs tests on real browsers running on real computers. It runs real desktop browsers on its own servers in virtual machines, not using use emulators or fake browsers. Testers can capture, save, and share screenshots of their web pages in all browsers. You can also annotate them and send bug reports this way. Website: https://www.browserling.com/

BrowserStack

BrowserStack provides Interactive web-based testing on 2000+ browsers and real devices instantly., from legacy versions of Internet Explorer, to the latest beta and developer releases of Edge, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Yandex. You can also use its Selenium grid to start testing instantly on 2000+ real mobile devices and desktop browsers. Website: https://www.browserstack.com/

CloudQA provides out of the box cross browser testing support. You can see how your page(s) look in different browsers. Simply provide the URL(s) and CloudQA will run in the background and access the page(s) via multiple browsers. We also support mobile Chrome emulator for testing. CloudQA will show you not only the screenshots of your page from each browser, but also provide other valuable information like performance metrics for each browser, page resource graph and HTML5 validation. Website: https://cloudqa.io/cross-browser-testing/

Comparium is a cross-browser testing tool that you can use to manage web browser testing on different browsers and operating system according to your choice. The supported browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.0, 8.0, Google Chrome 75.0, 74.0, 73.0, Mozilla Firefox 68.0, 67.0, and Safari 11.0. Perform visual compatibility testing across different web browsers. Comparium supports cross-browser testing on the following operating systems, namely, Windows 10, 7, Mac OS X Mojave, High Sierra, and Linux. Website: https://comparium.app/

Colin Creevey

Colin Creevey is an open source cross-browser screenshot testing tool for Storybook with fancy UI Runner. It features the usage of stories as tests and writing interaction tests. This tools supports Docker and is CI Ready. Website: https://git.io/creevey

Datadog is a commercial monitoring and testing platform. It aims to monitor critical user journeys and business transactions with intelligent, self-maintaining cross browser tests. You can create end-to-end tests with the codeless web recorder by clicking through applications just like end-users would, testing from various global locations, browsers, and devices. With Datadog you can configure test steps with advanced options such as assertions, variables, and subtests, easily analyzing test results with out-of-the-box metrics and dashboards. Website: https://www.datadoghq.com/

Digital.ai Continuous Testing

With Digital.ai Continuous Testing, you can test your sites and web applications across more than 1,000 real desktop browsers on SeeTest cloud real browser lab. You can perform manual web testing securely, even on a staging environment, using remote desktop and mobile browsers by connecting through a secure tunnel. Simplify web app testing by eliminating all errors before putting your work into production. You can also Perform large scale parallel test execution across +1,000 combinations of desktop and mobile browsers versions and operating systems, hosted in Experitest data centers around the globe. You can run Appium and Selenium tests without any modification directly from your IDE, using any testing framework such as Eclipse, IntelliJ, Visual Studio, TestNG, JUnit, etc. Tests can be programmed in any language (Java, C#, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, etc.) Website: https://digital.ai/continuous-testing

Ghost Inspector

Ghost Inspector is a online software testing tool that allows recording yourself walking through user journeys on your website and turn them in reproducible tests using our browser extension. You can then synchronize your recording to Ghost Inspector and run it as an automated test in the cloud. These tests can run on various versions of Chrome and Firefox, with a wide range of screen sizes that include mobile and tablet for testing responsive designs. Website: https://ghostinspector.com/

Headspin is an online sofware testing and software quality assurance platform that provides cross-browser testing features. You can target multple real mobile and browser testing devices with access to remote devices equipped with actual SIM cards through a secure global device cloud. Headsping allows running cross browser tests on real devices and test real user experience in locations around the globe, instantly adding more locations. Website: https://www.headspin.io/

Inflectra Rapise

Inflectra Rapise is a desktop Windows software testing tool. You can record a test script using one browser and then play it back using Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. Rapise supports cross-browser testing because it uses the web browser Document Object Model (DOM) to interact with the current web page. Website: https://www.inflectra.com/rapise/highlights/cross-browser-testing.aspx

LambdaTest is a cross browser testing cloud solution that allows performing automated and live interactive cross browser testing on more than 2000 real browsers and operating systems online. You can test from different locations to make sure that users get perfect experience across all locations. It integrates with other software development tools like Jenkins, GitHub, TeamCity, SpecFlow or Slack. Website: https://www.lambdatest.com/

Momentum Suite

Momentum Suite is a commerecial cross platform E2E software testing solution. It allows to automate tests of web applications on both mobile and desktop platforms. You can define your functional tests with real web and mobile browsers. Website: https://momentumsuite.com/

Perfecto Web

Perfecto Web is an online testing platform that allows testing across browsers. You can create tests with Perfecto Codeless is AI-driven test automation creation based on Selenium or use an existing test automation frameworks like Selenium, Protractor, and WebdriverIO. The Smart Lab is the heart of Perfecto’s test platform. You have 24/7 access to the power of six global data centers. Smart, self-healing abilities provide unshakable stability. You’ll always test on real devices and browsers with real user conditions in our smart testing lab. Website: https://www.perfecto.io/

Sauce Labs is an online software testing platform where you can test on thousands of desktop and mobile browser/OS combinations in the cloud. Extended debugging provides browser console logs and network calls to gain insight into network requests and browser performance that can cause automated tests to fail, helping to speed root cause analysis. You can setup, manage, and view test results all from within your continuous integration server like Jenkins, MSFT VSTS or and Bamboo. Website: https://saucelabs.com/

Telerik Test Studio

Telerik Test Studio is a suite of tools for web test automation with cross-browser support and flexible web and mobile form factor coverage. It allows you to create tests with the help of a visual test recorder and automate your test runs with multiple browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Chrome Headless, and Chromium-based Edge. To simulate different devices, you choose from several predefined browser screen sizes or create the custom ones that you need for your test scenarios. Website: https://www.telerik.com/teststudio

TestingBot provides cloud-based Selenium and Appium Grids for testing websites and mobile applications. You have access to over 2000 browsers and devices which you can instantly start using for live and automated testing. You can automatically take screenshots of your web pages on the browsers you specify. Website: https://testingbot.com/

Virtuoso is a test automation platform that aims to take the manual work out of functional and visual test automation. Virtuoso combines NLP, RPA, and other AI techniques to deliver faster results at any scale in the cloud. You can increase test coverage with on-demand access to 2000+ browsers and real devices to test web and mobile applications. Website: https://www.virtuoso.qa/

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5 Comments on Cross-Browser Testing Tools (Free, Open Source, Paid)

I chose BrowEmAll ( https://www.browseemall.com/ ) solution. It is inexpensive and easy to use.

Thanks for this suggestion. I will add this in my nex update.

Hi, Thanks for the information. Your information is very helpful for those who want to choose a cross-browser testing tool.

I think the list is missing testgrid.io

Thank you for the info. I will include it in the next update.

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Emulate CSS media features

Emulate various CSS media features with this reference of emulation options on the Rendering tab.

Emulate CSS media feature prefers-color-scheme

The prefers-color-scheme CSS media feature indicates if the user prefers light or dark color scheme.

To emulate this condition:

• On the prefers-color-scheme page, open the Rendering tab .

Under the Emulate CSS media feature prefers-color-scheme , select one of the following from the drop-down list:

• No emulation
• prefers-color-scheme:light
• prefers-color-scheme:dark

refresh Reload the page. For example:

Emulate CSS media type (Enable print preview)

The print media query controls how your page looks when printed.

To force your page into print preview mode:

Open the Rendering tab and under Emulate CSS media type select print .

From here, you can view and change your CSS, like any other web page. See Get Started With Viewing And Changing CSS .

Emulate CSS media feature forced-colors

The forced-colors CSS media feature indicates if the user agent enabled a forced colors mode. An example of a forced colors mode is Windows High Contrast.

• Open the Rendering tab .

Under the Emulate CSS media feature forced-colors , select one of the following from the drop-down list:

• forced-colors:active
• forced-colors:none

With forced-colors:active emulated:

Emulate CSS media feature prefers-contrast

The prefers-contrast CSS media feature indicates if the user requested the web content to present with a higher, lower, or specific contrast value.

Under the Emulate CSS media feature prefers-contrast , select one of the following from the drop-down list:

• prefers-contrast:more
• prefers-contrast:less
• prefers-contrast:custom

Emulate CSS media feature prefers-reduced-motion

The prefers-reduced-motion CSS media feature indicates if the user has requested to minimize the amount of motion on a page.

• Open the Rendering tab on this demo and try scrolling to see various animations.
• Under the Emulate CSS media feature prefers-reduced-motion , select prefers-reduced-motion:reduce .
• Try scrolling again.

Emulate CSS media feature prefers-reduced-transparency

The prefers-reduced-transparency CSS media feature indicates if the user requested to reduce the transparent or translucent layer effects used on the device.

The prefers-reduced-transparency feature is available from Chrome 118 and lets you adapt web content to user-selected preference for reduced transparency in the OS, such as the Reduce transparency setting on macOS.

• Under the Emulate CSS media feature prefers-reduced-transparency , select prefers-reduced-transparency: reduce .
• Check if your page displays correctly.

Emulate CSS media feature color-gamut

The color-gamut CSS media feature indicates which range of colors the user agent and the output device support.

Under the Emulate CSS media feature color-gamut , select one of the following from the drop-down list:

• color-gamut:srgb —approximately sRGB gamut or more
• color-gamut:p3 —approximately the gamut specified in Display P3 Color Space or more
• color-gamut:rec2020 —approximately the gamut specified in Rec. 2020 or more

Except as otherwise noted, the content of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License , and code samples are licensed under the Apache 2.0 License . For details, see the Google Developers Site Policies . Java is a registered trademark of Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Last updated 2022-04-13 UTC.