does safari run on chromium

Is Safari based on Chromium?

Modified Nov. 3, 2023, 8:43 p.m. By Maxime Levesque

A lot of web browsers are based on Chromium today, but is Safari based on Chromium? Which one is based on it? How do we know that? Let’s get through this.

No, Safari is not based on Chromium. The rendering engine used by Chromium is Blink while Safari’s rendering engine is WebKit. WebKit is developed and maintained by Apple itself. However, there is a long history between Safari and Chrome, they have more in common than we think, I’ll explain while.

Why is Safari not based on Chromium

Safari and chromium have many things in common, every web browser on ios use webkit, which other web browser is not chromium based, what is chromium.

Chromium web browser is an open source project started by Google when they decide to make a part of the Google Chrome browser public and open source. There is still a part of Google Chrome that is not public but otherwise, anyone can create a new web browser using the Chromium project.

The Chromium web browser is using Blink rendering engine, a rendering engine developed and maintain by Google. Many famous web browsers are Chromium based today, I’ll get back to the list later.

Safari rendering engine

Safari is not using the Blink rendering engine, Apple has its own rendering engine called WebKit. It’s not so different from Blink through as I explain later.

WebKit has been first released by Apple in 2003 with the first release of Safari. In 2005, Apple decided to make WebKit open-source to allow people to create and develop using WebKit.

There is almost no chance Safari will be Chromium based one day

In 2019, a rumor sourced from a Russian blog, says that an Apple employee wrote about an issue on Chromium open-source project about a feature that would be released on Safari, meaning Safari would be completely changing to be Chromium based.

Later people shows that this rumor was completely fake, there is even almost no chance that Safari would be Chromium based one day.

3 reasons why Safari won’t ever be Chromium based :

• Blink, the rendering engine used in Chromium, is a fork of WebKit, the rendering engine used by Safari. Blink is not different enough from WebKit for Apple to use it.
• iOS web browsers are all using WebKit. For compatibility reasons, Apple decided that all the web browsers released on iOS should be using WebKit. As Chromium is using Blink, they would have to maintain two versions of Safari using a different rendering engine
• Chromium is developed by Google. Even if it is an open-source project, Chromium is developed by Google, which means that Apple could not have full control of their browser if Safari is based on Chromium.

As I said before, Blink has forked WebKit at his creation. It means that the two rendering engines have things in common. Let’s see the history of each one to understand better the relationship.

As I said before, WebKit has been released with the first version of Safari in 2003. The WebKit project was started in 2001 by Apple as a fork of KHTML , a KDE project. Due to the development of new features in macOS, or OS X at that time, Apple had to completely rework the KHTML code, and therefore fork it.

On his side, Blink has been first announced in 2013 as a fork of WebKit. Google decided to create their own web browser because they found Firefox architecture too slow to be dealing with the newer web applications. Instead of using directly WebKit, they decided to create a new rendering engine at the same time, Blink.

So Blink is a fork of WebKit, even if it was almost 10 years ago they still have a lot in common.

All the web browsers in iOS have to use WebKit as their rendering engine to get accepted by Apple on the Apple apps store. It is mainly due to compatibility and maintenance reasons, as all the web browsers are using WebKit, Apple can continue to develop iOS without having to deal with many different web browsers and rendering engines.

But it means that web browsers not using WebKit have to develop a new version, especially for iOS. All Chromium based browsers need to maintain two versions if they want to be accepted on iOS, as well as Firefox.

Every web browser uses Blink engine is chromium based, the other ones are not.

Firefox is the most famous web browser that is not Chromium based. It has its own rendering engine called Gecko and Firefox is fully open source.

Konqueror is also not based on Chromium. Mostly known by Linux users, Konqueror is the web browser installed by default on KDE. His rendering engine is KHTML, which has been used by both WebKit and Blink.

There are a lot of other not Chromium based web browsers but these two ones are the most famous, you can check the full list here .

Maxime Levesque is a technical engineer with more than 5 years of professional experience. He is an expert in computer and phones, mostly on Apple products. Maxime is also the founder of TechBrowser.

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Is Safari based on Chromium? [Web Browser Differences]

When it comes to web browsing, the browser choice can significantly impact your online experience.

Among the myriad of options, Safari, Apple’s flagship browser, often comes under scrutiny for its underlying technology and performance compared to its peers.

A common query that arises in this context is: does Safari use Chromium ?

This blog post aims to address this question comprehensively, offering insights into the technological foundations of Safari and how it compares to Chromium-based browsers.

Understanding these differences is crucial for everyday users and web developers who need to ensure compatibility across different browsers.

Quick Answer: Does Safari Use Chromium?

No , Safari does not use Chromium. Safari is developed by Apple and is based on its own browser engine called WebKit.

WebKit is an open-source browser engine that is distinct from Chromium, which is the foundation for many other browsers, such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

This fundamental difference in browser engines leads to variations in performance, compatibility, and user experience between Safari and Chromium-based browsers.

Understanding Web Browsers

What is a web browser.

A web browser is a software application used to access the internet and retrieve web resources. It’s the gateway through which we interact with the vast expanse of the World Wide Web.

When you type a URL or search for something online, your browser fetches the relevant web pages and displays them on your device.

The Role of Browser Engines

A core component known as the browser engine is at the heart of every web browser. This engine interprets the code written by web developers (like HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and renders it as the web pages we see.

Different browsers use different engines, leading to variations in how web pages are displayed and function.

The most well-known browser engines are:

• WebKit : Used by Safari. It’s known for its efficiency and is also used in other browsers, particularly on mobile devices.
• Blink : A fork of WebKit, used by most Chromium-based browsers like Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
• Gecko : Used by Mozilla Firefox, notable for its robustness and adherence to web standards.

Each engine has unique characteristics, impacting everything from page loading speed to web features being supported.

Safari vs. Chromium: The Key Differences

The engine behind safari.

Safari, Apple’s signature browser, is powered by the WebKit engine. WebKit is known for its fast performance and energy efficiency, particularly on Apple devices.

It’s optimized to work seamlessly with the macOS and iOS ecosystems, offering a smooth browsing experience with minimal battery drain.

This makes Safari an ideal choice for users deeply integrated into the Apple ecosystem.

Chromium Explained

On the other hand, Chromium is an open-source browser project that many browsers, including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera, use as their foundation.

The primary engine behind Chromium is Blink (originally a part of WebKit). Chromium stands out for its extensive support for new web technologies and its broad compatibility with a variety of web applications and extensions.

Comparative Overview

When comparing Safari and Chromium-based browsers, several key differences emerge:

• Performance : Safari is often praised for its speed and efficiency on Apple devices, while Chromium browsers are known for their high performance across various platforms.
• Compatibility : Chromium browsers generally have better compatibility with a wide range of web applications due to their widespread use and support for the latest web technologies.
• Extension Ecosystem : Chromium’s extension ecosystem is more extensive, offering a wide range of add-ons and customizations.
• Privacy and Security : Safari is often lauded for its strong privacy features, especially regarding cross-site tracking. Chromium browsers, while secure, vary in their privacy features depending on the specific browser and its settings.

Why the Question Matters

Importance for developers.

For web developers, understanding the differences between Safari and Chromium is crucial. Each browser engine has its quirks and behaves differently in certain scenarios.

This means developers must ensure their websites or web applications are compatible with both types of browsers to reach the widest audience.

Testing across Safari and Chromium-based browsers helps identify and fix browser-specific issues, ensuring a consistent and smooth user experience for everyone.

Relevance for Users

For everyday users, choosing between Safari and a Chromium-based browser can affect their web browsing experience.

While both types of browsers offer a robust set of features, their differences in performance, compatibility with certain web apps, and privacy settings can influence user preference.

For instance, users deeply integrated into Apple’s ecosystem might prefer Safari for its seamless sync across devices and energy efficiency on Apple hardware.

Conversely, users prioritizing extensive customization options might lean towards a Chromium-based browser.

Browser Security and Privacy Features

Safari’s privacy approach.

Safari is renowned for its strong focus on user privacy. Apple has implemented numerous features in Safari to enhance privacy and security for its users.

Notable among these is Intelligent Tracking Prevention, which limits cross-site tracking by blocking cookies and data collection tools used by advertisers.

Safari also offers a range of privacy reports and secure password management, further bolstering its credentials as a privacy-conscious browser.

Chromium-Based Browsers and Privacy

Chromium-based browsers vary in their approach to privacy. While the underlying Chromium engine is secure, the privacy features can differ significantly based on the specific browser.

For instance, Google Chrome, being the most popular Chromium-based browser, has been criticized for its data collection practices.

However, other Chromium-based browsers like Brave have built their reputation around enhanced privacy and security, offering features like built-in ad blockers and advanced tracking protection.

In conclusion, while both Safari and Chromium-based browsers offer robust security features, their approach to privacy can differ significantly.

Users concerned about privacy may prefer Safari or specific Chromium-based browsers that prioritize user privacy.

Performance and Compatibility

Speed and efficiency: safari and chromium compared.

When it comes to performance, both Safari and Chromium-based browsers have their strengths. Safari is optimized for Apple devices, offering fast load times and efficient battery usage, particularly on iPhones and Macs.

This optimization results in a smooth and responsive browsing experience for users within the Apple ecosystem.

Chromium-based browsers, on the other hand, are known for their high performance across a wide range of devices, including Windows and Android.

They are often praised for their speed in loading complex websites and running demanding web applications.

Compatibility with Websites and Applications

Compatibility is another critical factor in the browser experience. Chromium, due to its widespread adoption, often has the edge in compatibility.

Many web developers prioritize Chromium-based browsers when designing websites, ensuring optimal performance and functionality.

This means users of Chromium browsers are less likely to encounter issues with websites not loading correctly or web applications not functioning as intended.

Safari, while generally compatible with most websites, can occasionally run into issues with sites optimized specifically for Chromium.

However, these instances are becoming less frequent as web standards evolve and developers increasingly adopt a more browser-agnostic approach to web design.

In summary, both Safari and Chromium-based browsers offer excellent performance and compatibility. Still, the optimal choice may depend on your specific device and the types of websites and applications you frequently use.

User Experience and Customization

Navigating the safari interface.

Safari’s user interface is designed with Apple’s signature minimalism and ease of use in mind.

It offers a clean and uncluttered browsing experience, with features like Reader Mode for distraction-free reading and seamless integration with the broader Apple ecosystem, including iCloud Keychain and Handoff.

This integration enhances the overall user experience, especially for users who utilize multiple Apple devices.

Customization in Chromium Browsers

In contrast, Chromium-based browsers generally offer a higher level of customization. Users can modify various aspects of their browsing experience, from themes and layouts to advanced settings for privacy and security.

The availability of a vast array of extensions and add-ons in the Chrome Web Store allows users to tailor their browser to their specific needs and preferences.

This flexibility makes Chromium browsers particularly appealing to users who value a personalized web experience.

Overall, the choice between Safari and Chromium-based browsers in terms of user experience and customization largely depends on individual preferences and needs.

Safari offers a streamlined, integrated experience for Apple users, while Chromium browsers provide more options for customization and personalization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: can safari extensions work on chromium browsers.

No , Safari extensions are specifically designed for the Safari browser and are not compatible with Chromium-based browsers.

Extensions for each browser are built using different architectures and technologies, making cross-browser compatibility challenging.

Users need to find equivalent extensions in the Chrome Web Store or other sources for Chromium browsers.

Q2: Is Safari Faster than Chromium Browsers?

The speed of Safari compared to Chromium browsers can vary depending on the device and the type of content being accessed.

Safari is generally faster and more efficient on Apple devices, such as iPhones and Macs, due to its optimization for the Apple ecosystem. On non-Apple devices, Chromium browsers tend to be faster and more responsive.

Q3: How Does Browser Choice Impact Online Privacy?

Browser choice can significantly impact online privacy. Safari is known for its strong privacy features, including robust anti-tracking capabilities and minimal data collection practices.

Chromium-based browsers, while secure, vary in their privacy features. Browsers like Brave focus heavily on privacy, whereas others like Google Chrome are more permissive in terms of data collection.

Users should choose a browser that aligns with their privacy preferences and needs.

In conclusion, the question of whether Safari uses Chromium opens up a broader discussion about browser technology, privacy, performance, and user experience.

While Safari is built on the WebKit engine and offers a uniquely integrated experience for Apple users, Chromium-based browsers provide extensive compatibility and customization options across various platforms.

Understanding these differences is vital for both web developers and everyday users.

Developers need to ensure their websites are optimized for both browser types, while users should choose a browser that aligns with their device ecosystem, performance needs, and privacy preferences.

In today’s digital landscape, where web browsing is an integral part of our daily lives, making an informed choice about your browser can enhance your overall online experience, safeguard your privacy, and ensure seamless access to the digital world.

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Compared: Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS in 2022

Safari vs. Chrome vs. Firefox vs. Edge on macOS, compared.

The truth is, the perfect browser doesn't exist. Each of the four most popular macOS browsers has its own set of strengths and weaknesses, just based on the engine that's used for web rendering, and what the developers of the big-four have prioritized.

While the best browser for the individual varies on use case, and which websites behave the best on any given browser, there are a series of benchmarking tools that can measure performance on synthetic tasks.

Browser benchmarks

We tested each browser on three different testing platforms: JetStream 2, Speedometer, and MotionMark.

JetStream 2 is a JavaScript-benchmark that scores browsers based on how quickly they can start and execute code, which translates to faster JavaScript performance. Since JavaScript is used on most web browsers, it's a good test of snappiness for code-intensive sites.

MotionMark is a graphical browser testing suite that measures the ability to render complex web pages. Think a page that has complicated graphics and animations. A higher score results in smoother transitions and animations.

Speedometer 2.0 determines the responsiveness of a browser when running web applications. Among the three, it's the truest option for testing real-world performance across many popular websites and online services. A good example is adding tasks to a to-do list in a web app.

Chrome came out on top in JetStream 2 testing, while Safari took second place.

Safari was the fastest in MotionMark benchmark testing.

Speedometer testing showed off interesting results, with Firefox and Edge coming in first and second, and Safari in last place.

Different testing platforms result in different scores, so your own mileage may vary. Safari was the best for graphical performance, for example, but its responsiveness lagged behind others. Choose what specific metrics are most important to you.

For Mac users, Safari is an institution. It's the default browser on Apple platforms and is generally lightweight and efficient. As you'd expect for an Apple product, Safari also emphasizing privacy while you browser online.

From the very first boot on a new Mac, Safari is instantly available and configured for easy, private browsing. That makes it the best choice for the most non-technical among us, since you won't need to download and install anything. Safari "just works" out of the box.

It also features the tighest integration across Apple's other devices and systems. You can use Continuity to easy hand-off your browsing between your Mac and any iPhone or iPad you have around. If you need to buy something with Apple Pay , you can authenticate purchases with Face ID or Touch ID.

Safari also features some strong privacy protections, including mechanisms aimed at mitigating cross-site tracking and ad targeting. It features a built-in password manager that allows you to save and store passwords — with easy autofill options — across your Apple devices.

As an Apple-made product, Safari is the most convenient option on this list for Mac users — particularly those who own multiple Apple devices. It's also a good choice for the privacy conscious, though it isn't the fastest and it doesn't yet have a strong extension marketplace.

• Default Mac browser with effortless setup
• Strong privacy protections
• Integration with other Apple products
• Not the fastest or most responsive browser in some testing
• Lackluster support for add-ons and extensions

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a massively popular browser, and a particular favorite of those who routinely use extensions to customize their web experience. It's the most-used web browser in the world, and it's faster and more RAM-efficient than it used to be. Chrome is even currently speedier than Safari on macOS.

The browser also has one of the world's most extensive list of add-ons, plug-ins, and extensions. From plugins focused on online privacy or to video content downloaders, there are around 190,000 extensions in total to choose from. You can also choose from a number of different themes and customization options.

Intelligent Google-made features include automatic site translations and deep integration with the company's online tools and services — so it's great for those who rely on Gmail, Google Docs, or another Google service. Syncing between Google apps on different devices is also top-notch.

However, Google is a data company that relies on collecting information about its users. While the company has taken steps to bolster its privacy reputation, it's still a company that makes money on harvesting data. Those who are particularly privacy-conscious will probably want to look elsewhere.

It's hard to go wrong with the world's most popular web browser, particularly with its seamless workflow features and customization options. However, if you are even slightly concerned about online privacy, you may want to go with another option.

• Simple to learn, fastest option in some cases
• Syncs your Google account across other devices
• Extensive list of extensions and add-ons
• It's Google — so not that private
• Is a RAM and CPU hog

Mozilla Firefox is one of the only popular and mainstream browsers to have started life as an open source project. It's still a free and open source browser with a hefty focus on privacy and security, which could make it a good fit for those who want a Google Chrome alternative.

Because of its open source nature, users are free to explore Firefox's code — and they do. The browser doesn't have any hidden secrets or data-harvesters. It also features some excellent built-in privacy and security protections, including Enhanced Tracking Protection and an extensive list of customizable permissions.

Firefox was also the first browser to actually offer third-party extensions and add-ons. Although it might not have as many extensions as Google Chrome, you'll still find a hefty list of options ranging from privacy add-ons to customizable themes for your browser.

Although Firefox has some cross-platform integration between its app and built-in Pocket support, it isn't as seamless as Chrome or Safari. If speed if your primary concern, it's also important to note that Firefox isn't the fastest browser by most metrics.

Users who want an open source browser or are committed to Mozilla's mission of keeping the internet open and free will find a browser after their own hearts here. For the average user, however, another browser on this list might be a better fit.

• Completely free and open source
• Extremely customizable with extensions, themes, etc.
• The best option for hardcore privacy
• Not the fastest or most RAM efficient
• Synchronicity isn't as robust

Microsoft Edge is the spiritual successor to Internet Explorer that was first released in 2015. Originally HTML-based, Microsoft overhauled the browser to be based on Chromium, which is the same underlying software used to make Google Chrome.

As such, Microsoft Edge is now much more competitive than it used to be. It's far from a Google Chrome clone, but you should expect a similar level of performance from it. Some users believe that Microsoft Edge even feels snappier than Chrome on a Mac.

Because it's Chromium-based, Microsoft Edge also has a list of extensions similar to Chrome. It also sports a number of unique features, such as a "Collections" ability that lets you save information like text or webpages to a built-in notebook. There's also a vertical tab bar, a built-in read aloud feature, and an easy native screenshot tool.

It's a solid option for anyone that doesn't like Safari and wants an alternative to Google Chrome because of privacy reasons. If you use a Microsoft account like some use a Google account, then Edge might also be a solid option.

• Snappy, lower RAM and CPU usage
• Unique features like Read Aloud and Collections
• Good performance in most metrics
• Can be slower than Chrome in terms of pure performance
• Syncing isn't as strong as Safari or Chrome

The perfect browser doesn't exist, but you can pick and choose what you need

There's no clear answer for what the "best" browser on macOS is. However, some browsers are better suited to specific tasks than others.

When it comes to smooth JavaScript execution, Chrome is in the top spot with Safari a close second. Safari, according to the MotionMark testing, handles complex web pages better than any other browser.

Firefox, interestingly enough, may be the fastest when it comes to general everyday web apps.

Of course, there's also the issues of extension support, privacy, and synchronization across other devices. Many of the browsers are evenly matched on these metrics, but some excel in specific areas like privacy or cross-platform integration.

But, unlike on iOS, you aren't effectively stuck with one browser core technology. These four browsers, and several more, are available on macOS, and can be run in parallel.

While we don't recommend running all four unless you're a web developer or unit case tester, two or three different browsers can be run at-will, if any given browser doesn't handle your work case well.

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— UPDATED — Move over Edge: Safari looks to be jumping on the Chromium bandwagon, too

December 27, 2019 By Robby Payne View Comments

UPDATE: According to some traffic over on Twitter, it looks like this whole thing is vaporware. It has been uncovered that the bug in question in the article below has nothing to do with Safari at all. The bug is still private and cannot be viewed by non-Google employees, but it appears that this bug is assigned to “Move sync tests to staging” from 2015. We’re sorry for the incorrect reporting and have left the original story below. Additionally, here is a tweet from someone more informed than me on the subject:

This is completely fake. No such plan. The supposed email address isn’t anyone on the Safari/WebKit teams, there is no ITP code in Chromium that could be enabled, and the screenshot is not a real Safari design. — othermaciej (@othermaciej) December 27, 2019

A day after Christmas, a reader delivered a tasty little present to our collective inbox and the implications are pretty big. If the screenshots in this email/article are to be believed, it looks like Apple may be transitioning the Safari web browser over to Chromium in a move similar to what Microsoft has done recently with Edge. It is shocking, honestly, to consider Apple bending this way, but it makes a lot of sense in the long run.

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A Bit of Background

Before we can make any sense of this, we have to get the whole picture. Apple has famously been very closed in its software efforts over the years. From iOS to MacOS, they have never really felt the need to associate themselves with open source material in general. Apple builds the hardware, maintains the OS and software, and if you want to sell your apps on their platforms, you just have to suck it up and play ball.

This all works fine when you sell iPhones like hotcakes. When you so heavily dominate a given market (the US) with your hardware, you get to make whatever rules you want and developers and consumers alike get whatever it is you feed them. But this doesn’t work with the web. The web is the ultimate open platform and delivery tool. Thank God we’ve not all caved on that expectation. Somehow in the midst of this open-minded nature, no one has ever been OK with being forced to use one browser over another. People don’t care what browser their computer of choice ships with: they want to use the browser they enjoy using that just works.

For the vast majority of users, Chrome became that browser right in the middle of companies like Apple and Microsoft choosing to lag behind on rapidly-changing web standards. Whether it was due to stubbornness or incompetency, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Edge were constantly lacking in multiple facets when compared with Chrome. As those browsers stayed consistently behind the curve, Chrome only grew in popularity to where it is in its dominant place now. At any point, Apple or Microsoft could have simply decided that 3rd party browsers were not allowed, but there’s just something about the web that wouldn’t allow that to happen. There’s no way users would have it.

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An Open Source Approach

One of the primary benefits of Chrome is the fact that it is based on the Chromium browser. This is the open source foundation of Chrome the way you know it. Chromium and Chromium OS are both developed out in the open and are contributed to by anyone interested in their success. Chrome (Google’s version of the Chromium browser) has a handful of proprietary bits and pieces that are Google’s and those things make it unique to other browsers that run on Chromium, but because it is built on an open source base, Chrome gets to take full advantage of not just a single team of developers, but an entire horde.

Other browsers have seen the vast opportunity and done the same. Browsers like Brave, Opera, Vivaldi, Edge, Samsung’s Internet Browser, and a slew of others all run on this same Chromium foundation. What this means is the teams charged with developing each of these expressions of Chromium care about what Chromium can do and what it can’t and are all working towards a more functional, better-performing web browser core. Sure, they all serve their own interests along the way, but the work they do for their platform is there for others to leverage as well.

This is the power of open source software. Instead of a ton of companies competing to build differing standards and ways of doing things, they all spend that same time working on a common project that will be so much better as a result. Microsoft’s work on Chromium for Edge has already began yielding better RAM management and battery life. These are things important to Microsoft in their browser, so it will become something that is also important for Chromium. In this system, consumers win every time.

Apple May Be On Board

Now, we get to this new report. As you may assume, Safari is both behind the curve and closed source, so a move to a Chromium-based browser would be both beneficial to Apple and users alike. Apple gets to deliver Safari without all the technical deficiencies it comes with and users get to just use Safari out of the box without having to decide which browser to go with when they buy their new Mac. If Safari is already installed and just as good from a technical standpoint as Chrome, why bother installing something else?

If this report from iphones.ru is to be believed, there’s a good chance Safari may end up built on Chromium sooner rather than later. In the article, a bug report (that has since been hidden) was found that is requesting “Intelligent Tracking Prevention” to be activated in Chrome 80. This is a big deal since ITP is a proprietary to Safari at this point and the request is coming from an Apple employee. Why would an Apple developer be requesting a proprietary Safari feature be activated in Chrome 80? Well, you know that answer to that, don’t you?

In addition to this evidence, there are a couple screen grabs from the bug report. The first one clearly shows this request coming from a developer with an @apple.com address along with an included screenshot, and upon quick inspection, the screenshot is of Safari running on Chromium in an alpha state.

A couple more notes, here. First, the bug has since been marked as private. If this was a fake, searching the bug number would come up with an error. Instead, it comes up as blocked and needing permission to view. There’s no real reason for anyone to hide this if it wasn’t legit. They could have simply replied in the bug thread and told this guy to stop messing around. Instead, they hid the references, and this tells me that something was uncovered that shouldn’t have been.

Second, the alpha version of the Chromium-based Safari being pictured is just that: alpha. It looks pretty rough and that is honestly to be expected. Ripping out the guts of your browser makes you only focus on the function at first. Apple is likely doing a ton of work under the hood to make sure all the functional parts are lining up and working before they even consider making the outside look nice, so don’t read too much into the overall hideous appearance in that screenshot.

Finally, it is worth noting that in the first screenshot, you can see the list of operating systems this is being added to: Windows, Linux, and Mac. This could mean that we’ll see a Chromium-based Safari on all three major desktop operating systems and could signal yet another softening of the walled garden approach Apple has long been known for. They’re relatively recent inclusion of PWAs on iPhone is further evidence that Apple may finally be seeing the light with broader, open source, web-based software, and that’s good news for everyone.

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About Robby Payne

As the founder of Chrome Unboxed, Robby has been reviewing Chromebooks for over a decade. His passion for ChromeOS and the devices it runs on drives his relentless pursuit to find the best Chromebooks, best services, and best tips for those looking to adopt ChromeOS and those who've already made the switch.

VPNoverview.com Internet Safety Secure Browsing Safari vs. Chrome in 2024: Which is the Safest Web Browser for Mac?

Safari vs. Chrome in 2024: Which is the Safest Web Browser for Mac?

Safari vs. Chrome are two of the most popular browsers in use today. The question is: which one values your privacy more ? To understand where each browser stands, our review team at VPNOverview tested both, specifically focusing on four key areas:

• Performance
• Ease of use
• Data privacy

The results were tighter than you may have thought. While there’s obviously a very subjective element to this, we put each browser through its paces and tried to be as objective as possible.

Whether you prefer Safari or Chrome for daily use, using a VPN can make your browsing experience safer and more private. We recommend  NordVPN as the best VPN, and it works just as well with both Safari and Chrome.

For a full understanding of the tests we performed and the features we looked at, check out our Safari vs. Chrome comparison below!

In the age of digital warfare, where your every click and scroll can be a battleground, choosing the right web browser is more crucial than ever. Safari and Chrome are two of the most commonly used browsers today.

As privacy concerns mount and data breaches become increasingly common, we pit these two titans of the browsing world against each other, examining their strengths and weaknesses to help you confidently navigate the treacherous online landscape.

Which is the best browser for Mac? Which is the safest web browser between the two? The results might just surprise you.

Safari vs. Chrome: Functionality and Feature Comparison

Safari vs. chrome: which browser is more secure.

It’s important to have a browser that keeps you secure online. An unsecured browser can expose you to keyloggers, malware, and other online threats.

With this in mind, the first stop in our Safari vs. Chrome comparison was to look at security. We considered points including:

• The frequency with which both Google and Apple fixed security flaws
• Whether each browser can help you to detect and avoid security risks
• How each browser managers your passwords and other credentials
• Any other added functionality, such as dark web monitoring

So, let’s look at how each browser can help to keep you secure.

1. Malicious website detection

Safari and Chrome both make use of Google’s Safe Browsing database . Think of this database as a dictionary of malicious web resources. Safari and Chrome reference the database to check whether you visit a safe website.

If you navigate to a website listed in the database, you’ll see a warning . While you can choose to continue, we recommend you follow the recommendations and steer clear. These websites can use social engineering tactics, like phishing, or install keyloggers and other malware onto your device.

Both Safari and Chrome also indicate when a website is HTTPS secured. Look for the little padlock icon in your browser’s URL bar. With all of the above in mind, Safari and Chrome are essentially tied to security at this point .

2. Password management

Dedicated password managers are a great solution because they can be used on multiple devices. But both Safari and Chrome have a built-in way to manage your passwords. On Safari, you can access Apple’s Keychain, while on Chrome, you can use Google Password Manager.

Like the best password managers , Safari’s Keychain integration remembers and stores your passwords so that you don’t have to remember them all.

When you visit a website or app, Keychain suggests and auto-fills your credentials. Google Password Manager effectively has the same functionality offered by Keychain, so we’re still at a tie between Safari and Chrome .

3. Security and vulnerability updates

While browsers are designed to be secure, hackers routinely exploit security vulnerabilities that make it through the QA process while releasing a new update.

Thankfully, security researchers are usually quick to identify these issues and flag them to Apple or Google. Both Apple and Google also offer generous bug bounty programs, rewarding users for identifying security flaws.

While both Apple and Google regularly patch security vulnerabilities and update their browsers, Chrome tends to do so more frequently. Chrome pushes out updates, on average, every couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Safari’s updates tend to come bundled with macOS or iOS updates, making them more infrequent. So, it’s Google Chrome that takes the crown here .

This is subjective because pushing out fewer security updates doesn’t always indicate better security. In some cases, it also reflects the overall security stack of Safari.

4. Support for security-focused extensions

Web extensions can completely personalize your experience with a browser. The best extensions for privacy and security significantly boost your privacy. These include VPN extensions, ad-blockers, anti-tracker tools, and cookie auto-delete software.

Bear in mind that certain extensions are only available on certain browsers. Thanks to the less-stringent rules around third-party applications, Chrome tends to have a broader selection of extensions, which may expose you to certain privacy risks of browser extensions .

Safari is the winner here , as Apple supports Safari extensions to iOS on mobile. Remember, we’re talking about using Chrome on iOS or macOS, and Apple doesn’t support Chrome extensions for its products.

5. Private browsing modes

Private browsing modes in internet browsers offer increased security compared to “regular” browser windows. Both Safari and Chrome offer a private browsing function, but you should know about the data collection policies between normal and private mode .

Safari Private Browsing is Apple’s private mode, which will not save your search or browsing history . That said, it has its limitations. Websites can still see your IP address , and your ISP (internet service provider) can still see your search history .

Chrome offers Incognito Mode , which has the same benefits and drawbacks as Safari’s private mode. Chrome sees your IP address, even in Incognito Mode.

However, even if you’re using a VPN , Chrome will also let web services see your activity and your identity if signed into a web service like an email account. Chrome also remembers your location .

In effect, if you want true privacy, you need to be using one of the best VPN services — but remember our warning about Chrome. While this was a close competition, Safari wins here owing to Chrome’s increased scrutiny of your online actions, even in private mode.

What is the most secure browser?

In terms of security and privacy, Safari tends to offer the most secure experience. This is partly why macOS users typically suffer fewer malware infections than their Windows counterparts.

Safari picked up an additional win over Chrome, with better private browsing, but Apple also generally ensures a pretty watertight product all-around due to development restrictions.

However, Safari and Chrome are both very much everyday consumer products. If you want maximum security, check out our list of the best web browsers for privacy .

Safari vs. Chrome: Which Browser is Faster?

Speed is important when it comes to browsing. We compared Safari vs. Chrome in a speed and general performance test. This included looking at aspects like:

• How each browser responds under heavy use
• How each browser handles graphics-intensive websites

To test the performance between Safari and Chrome, we used three applications: JetStream 2, MotionMark, and Speedometer. We ran these applications on a MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and a 1.8 GHz Dual Core Intel Core i5 CPU. Our results are below.

1. Javascript performance testing with JetStream

Javascript is a programming language that handles most script processing behind the scenes on most webpages. This includes content changes, user interactions, mouse pointer movements, and more.

JetStream runs a suite of tests to see how well a browser performs during periods of high Javascript activity. In the JetStream test, a larger score means better performance. Here’s how the two tests measured up:

Chrome’s score of 96.774 puts it just slightly ahead of Safari, scoring 93.217. This suggests that Chrome should perform better when running sites or apps with complex Javascript functions, though the gap is only marginal.

2. Graphics performance with MotionMark

The more complex a webpage, the slower it loads, as your browser has to render every element on the page. MotionMark is a tool that checks how well your browser handles intense tasks that use your browser and the device’s graphics capabilities.

Chrome scored 357.01 in the graphics performance tests. Meanwhile, Safari managed to surprise us, scoring 425.67. Regarding user experience and the responsiveness of complex applications, Safari should provide a smoother experience.

3. Responsiveness with Speedometer

Speedometer simply measures the responsiveness of web applications. The tool simulates user interactions, timing how long these actions take to complete. In these tests, which cycle 480 times, the tool creates a to-do list, adds multiple items, checks them off, and loops back to the beginning.

We started with Chrome, which scored 91.4 with Speedometer. But when we moved over to Safari, it was immediately obvious that the test was struggling. Safari scored just 66.7 by comparison, with Chrome coming out on top.

Memory Saver in Chrome

If you’re running a lot of tabs, you may have noticed a performance dip. The browser consumes more RAM, eating more memory and slowing down your computer. In Google Chrome, a feature called Memory Saver can help you avoid this sluggish performance, even though Chrome is notorious for hogging RAM.

If you leave a tab open but don’t interact with it for a while, Chrome puts it in a rest state. This frees up CPU memory to perform other tasks. But you can still return to that tab later and continue where you left off.

What is the fastest browser?

The results of our Safari vs. Chrome performance and speed tests speak for themselves. Chrome performed better than Safari when it came to performing complex, fast-paced actions and general responsiveness. Moreover, with features like Memory Saver, Chrome can help keep you working faster.

While Safari outshones Chrome with graphics performance, Chrome is the overall winner . This is why power users who use multiple different Google apps will often choose it over Safari.

Safari vs. Chrome: Which Delivers the Better User Experience?

Ease of use is difficult to analyze and compare, as it’s often quite subjective. Die-hard Apple fans will probably get on well with Safari, as it’s more familiar. The same applies to Chrome and Google fans.

To gauge user experience, we looked at the following points:

• Multiple tab and window management
• Cross-platform support from desktop to mobile
• User settings and customizations

1. Working in multiple tabs

Opening multiple tabs is common when you need to do research or work. The problem is it can be easy to get lost when you’re using multiple windows. So, we looked at how tab management works in Safari and Chrome .

Tab management in Chrome using Tab Groups

When opening multiple tabs in Chrome, we found that things can get a bit messy . The more tabs you have open, the harder it becomes to find your place. Everything gets sort of squished together until you can only see the site’s logo.

However, you can add tabs to groups for better organization , which lets you cluster related tabs together. You can easily switch between groups to focus on one particular task simultaneously. This works differently depending on whether you’re using a computer or a mobile device.

On Chrome for desktop, set up tab groups by following the below steps:

• Hold “ Ctrl ” and right-click on a tab.
• Hover over “ Add tab to group ” and click “ New group .”
• Name the group and choose a color.
• Click “ Enter ” to save the group.
• Click on the group to collapse or expand all tabs.

If you want to group tabs on Chrome mobile , tap on the “Tabs” button in the upper-right corner of your screen. Long-press one tab and drag it on top of another to group them.

Tab management in Safari

Safari isn’t getting left behind by Chrome here. You can also group tabs on Safari for desktop — but only if you’re up to date with your operating system software.

This feature was introduced by macOS Monterey and released at the end of 2021. Upgrading to this version isn’t always possible for people with older devices or low memory .

• Open Safari on a computer.
• Click on “ File ” while you have Safari open.
• Click “ New Tab Group with X Tabs ,” where X represents the number you currently have open.

You can follow the same logic on iPhones. On mobile, the latest version of iOS sees Safari stack all tabs like a deck of cards. Unless you set up Tab Groups, you’ll have to scroll through them all to find what you’re looking for.

• Open Safari on the app.
• Long-press a tab until a menu appears.
• Select “ New Tab Group .”

• Now, you can click the Tab Group name at the bottom to swap between groups .

Navigating between tabs

Both Safari and Chrome offer additional options for keeping on top of your tabs. In Safari, you can search through tabs by clicking “ View ” and then Tab Overview for a grid view with a search bar. In Chrome, type “@tabs” into your URL bar, click the “Search tabs” button and run your search.

All in all, both browsers offer useful ways to manage your various browser windows. So, we really had to look closely to pick a winner or draw a tie. In the end, Chrome takes the lead here .

Apple’s tab grouping functionality relies on you having the latest iOS software, plus you can’t set them up as quickly by simply Ctrl-clicking on a tab.

2. Working across multiple devices

Integration between devices is continuously improving, making it extremely easy to switch from your desktop to mobile and carry your work along. This is more evident when using other products in the Apple or Google ecosystems. With multiple Apple devices, you can quickly pick up and continue work on one device from another.

If you’re an iPhone user, then you’ll be right at home with Safari , as it integrates with the Apple ecosystem. If you’ve got an iPhone or iPad, you can easily pass your desktop Safari tabs to your mobile device and continue browsing.

Apple Pay can also be used cross-platform, and you can verify purchases made on a desktop with your mobile phone’s biometrics.

When you have multiple tabs open, passing tabs between devices is simple. Enable Handoff on your Mac and mobile device first to make sure this works:

• Open “ Settings ,” then “ General ” on your mobile device.
• Click “ Handoff ” and ensure it’s switched on.
• Now, go to “ System Preferences ” and then “ General ” on your Mac.
• Again, find the checkbox to “ Enable Handoff .”

• You’ll see an option to pull the tabs from your Mac.
• If you want to move tabs in the other direction, look for the mobile icon on the Safari app in your dock.

That said, there are benefits to Chrome that are lacking in Safari. While iPhones are hugely popular, more people own Google Home devices — and streaming devices like the Google Chromecast — than those who own Apple’s smart home device. Apple’s foray into the smart home market never really took off in the same way.

This is where Google Chrome shines. If you have a Chromecast or Google Nest, you can cast videos or entire webpages to your big screen by simply right-clicking anywhere within the window.

And it’s for all of these reasons that we have to declare a tie for this section . The best browser for Mac in this particular situation comes down to your existing devices or the ecosystem you use.

If you have an iPhone or iPad, you’ll find the experience on Safari far more seamless. If you use an Android smartphone or want to make the most of your Chromecast, Google Chrome is excellent.

3. Support for multiple languages

Sometimes, you might want or need to visit a website not intended for your country. Aside from potentially needing a VPN, there may well be a language barrier in these cases.

This is common among people who like to stream online with a VPN but can’t work out what anything on the website says. Remember, do check if streaming is legal or not before you access different sites.

We’re just going to say it outright: Google Chrome is generally superior in supporting multiple languages, thanks to the power of Google Translate. Both Safari and Chrome can translate webpages from one language to another. But Google is miles ahead in the translation space.

To put this to the test, we got a Chinese IP address with Intego Privacy Protection, one of the best VPNs for Mac . We then loaded up several popular Chinese shopping websites we had no hope of understanding. While Google Chrome offered to translate the page, Safari did not.

4. Pop-up advert blockers

Pop-ups are not just annoying, but sometimes they can be malicious, too. Safari has native pop-up blocking built into the software. You can enable it by opening Settings or Preferences and then blocking some or all pop-up adverts.

Chrome is configured to block pop-up adverts by default. It’ll indicate when this happens with a small icon in the address bar. If, for any reason, you want to enable pop-up adverts, you can simply go into Settings , Permissions , then Pop-ups and redirects .

This is a fairly simple and standard feature, but it’s good to see that each developer has included it natively. So, it’s a tie in this section .

What is the most user-friendly browser?

For general ease of use, Chrome won over Safari in more sections . But as we mentioned, usability is subjective and largely influenced by the other devices you already own.

People who use Apple’s products may find Safari easier to get on with. Not to mention, you could miss out on features by using Chrome, including Handoff and Apple Pay integration.

Safari vs. Chrome: Which Offers Better Data Privacy?

There’s big money in data, so companies will often collect as much user information as they can get away with. But giving away your data can come with privacy risks, which is why we’re huge advocates of using a VPN to encrypt your data .

With this in mind, we wanted to understand the following:

• How much data Safari and Chrome gather
• How they protect your data

1. Personal information collected by Chrome and Safari

Under the guise of “improving your future browsing experience,” Safari has been known to gather certain information about you and your habits. This includes:

• Browsing history
• Browser cache
• Download history
• Login credentials via cookies

Safari also offers a feature known as Privacy Preserving Ad Measurement. When enabled, this feature essentially supports advertising. Marketing agencies will be sent data relating to adverts you’ve interacted with, but all identifiable information is stripped out.

Chrome also has Do Not Track for tracking protection. But while Apple gathers limited data, we found Google tends to gather more specific data . Google is well-known for gathering a lot of data through its various services, and Chrome is one of its most prolific apps. Some of the data gathered by Chrome includes:

• Your IP and location
• Search and browsing history
• User identifiers
• Product interaction data

What’s more, unlike Safari, Firefox, and Edge, Chrome is said to tie this data to individuals and devices . As a result, we have to declare Safari the winner on this front .

2. Protection of your personal data

While Safari can see your IP address, even in Private Browsing mode, it isn’t shared. Safari has built-in Intelligent Tracking Prevention that uses machine learning to prevent trackers.

It also has a feature that prevents cross-site tracking and limits ad trackers from working. In their privacy policy, Apple says that they may share your personal data with Apple-affiliated companies, partners, developers, and publishers.

According to their privacy policy, Apple has never allowed government agency access to personal data and never will.

While Google follows data privacy legislation, your data does tend to be used more freely for advertising purposes. According to Google’s Safety Center, your data might be anonymized and used to drive targeted ads. This is partly why you’ll often see many online adverts for products you’ve recently discussed or looked at.

As a result, Safari wins here , though it’s partly a question of user experience and the annoyance that can come with ad bombardment.

What is the most private browser?

Both Google and Apple typically fight to retain user privacy. There have been numerous high-profile instances of these companies resisting requests for data from government and law enforcement agencies.

However, owing to Google’s reputation for data gathering and its use in targeted advertising, Safari wins overall on data privacy .

Safari vs. Chrome: Final Thoughts

We looked at four main comparison areas in our Safari vs. Chrome review. In conclusion, each browser won on two sections, making for an overall tie.

This is reflective of our experience with Safari and Chrome. Both are good web browsers that offer a great user experience and strong privacy and security features.

That said, the caveat is that this is a highly subjective area . It also heavily depends on what devices you’re already using .

If you’ve got a Google Pixel, the full suite of Google smart home products, and a Chromecast, you might find Safari tough to get used to.

Similarly, if you’re a die-hard Apple fan with numerous Apple devices like a Mac, iPhone, and iPad, you’ll miss out on a load of cool features if you use Chrome as your main browser.

So, to summarize, we’ll leave you with this quick reference table that should help you make a choice. The table contains our browser recommendations depending on your situation.

Key Takeaways

• Chrome generally performed better in our tests
• Chrome offers superior multi-language support and device casting
• Cross-platform use feels more seamless with Safari
• Apple fans who use Chrome miss out on cool cross-platform features
• Overall, Chrome beat Safari in more categories, making it the  best browser for Mac  in most scenarios

If you have questions about whether to choose Safari vs. Chrome, check out some of our previous answers below!

In our Safari vs. Chrome testing, Safari excelled in certain areas compared to Chrome. For example, Safari was better for general data privacy and processing activities with a high demand on graphics.

However, Chrome excelled in other areas, including user experience and overall performance.

You can use either browser on iPhone, but we recommend using Safari . One of the main reasons people choose Chrome is for its extensive extensions support.

However, Apple doesn’t allow you to install Chrome extensions on iOS . So, for an iPhone or iPad, Safari works best. There are other privacy-focused browsers you can pick too!

Safari and Chrome deliver a similar experience, with many shared features that lead to there being little different. Most of the differences come in the form of integrations with other Apple or Google products.

For example, if you use Safari, you can “Handoff” Safari tabs, passing them from one device to another. If you use Chrome, you can cast almost anything to a Chromecast.

Chris Bluvshtein Author

Senior journalist.

Chris is a tech journalist with many years’ experience covering online privacy and cybersecurity. He’s also a published author and works as a Product Manager for some of the most innovative software development companies.

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Nothing against Safari other then its solely tied to Apple devices only. I am a multi-platform user so Chrome makes more sense seeing it can run on many different non Apple operating systems. WebKit is also going the way of Gecko with its own browser engine vs Chromium which is now the most used browser engine. If Apple didn't force IOS browsers to use WebKit and allow Chromium engine WebKit would be way less popular.

Hi John! Thank you for sharing. It's completely understandable that cross-platform users like yourself would choose Chrome over Safari. As you say, Safari is definitely great for Apple fans, but harder to use elsewhere.

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Safari and Chrome are two of the biggest players in the browser world. While Safari comes ready-to-go on Apple devices, that doesn’t mean it’s the best option — especially as Chrome is often touted as the best browser out there. See who wins in our Safari vs Chrome comparison.

Last Updated: 01 Feb'24 2024-02-01T09:54:22+00:00

All our content is written fully by humans; we do not publish AI writing. Learn more here.

It’s that time of year again where we put two of the most famous browsers in our virtual boxing ring for the battle of Safari vs Chrome. All Mac users will be familiar with Safari; it’s the default browser for Mac devices and iPhones. 

However, just because Safari comes pre-installed by default, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best. With applications available for the Google Chrome browser on both Apple desktops and iOS, you might be wondering if you should make the switch.

Key Takeaways:

• While Safari and Chrome are both decent browsers, Chrome’s vast library of extensions and customization capabilities means it’s a slightly better choice
• In the battle of performance, Chrome also comes up tops, offering better speed and graphics execution
• The only round where Chrome lags a little is privacy and browsing data collection, which is why we advise using this browser in conjunction with a VPN

To help you decide, we’ve done a bit of research for you, comparing Safari and Google Chrome across Mac and iOS to see which one is better. If you’re not a Mac user, then this article won’t be one for you, so we suggest you check out our Microsoft Edge vs Chrome review for Windows devices instead.

Cloudwards completed a fresh comparison of Safari vs Chrome. Since our last review, Chrome and Safari have remained relatively unchanged, making for a neck-and-neck race. 

Safari vs Chrome: Rounds & Criteria

Our showdown between Safari and Google Chrome will take the form of five rounds, each focused on a different strength: features, ease of use, performance, security and privacy.

Check out our online security courses and grab a limited-time offer. Enrollment available now!

At the end of each round, one browser will come up tops and earn a point. Whichever of the two browsers scores three points overall will be the final winner. Is Chrome better than Safari? Let’s find out. 

1. Features

First up in our Google Chrome vs Safari showdown, we’ll explore each of the browser’s features. It’s fair to say that Safari and Google both cover the basics of a good browsing experience pretty well but, in this day and age, most of us want more than basic functionality. Native tools, customization and extensions were all things we considered in this round.

Customization

Safari is pretty minimalist in design and functionality. While you can customize the look and feel of the browser on Mac, your options are limited. For example, you can change the background of the Safari home screen, but not the overarching color and theme of the desktop.

By contrast, Google Chrome gives you a lot more options. You can choose from over 24 color themes, or even customize your background with an image of your choice. It’s a similar story over on the mobile applications for both.

Safari’s home screen feels minimalist and static, while the Google Chrome mobile device app offers higher levels of customization. You can, for example, set your homepage to show you the latest trending news from Google News.

Google Extensions vs the Apple Ecosystem

Google Chrome also leads when it comes to extensions. Like Firefox, the Chrome extensions library is huge, varied and offers lots of applications for free. Read our Chrome vs Firefox review here . 

Safari’s library of extensions, in comparison, feels relatively limited. While you can access big names like Honey and 1Password, you’ll also find that a lot of applications aren’t compatible with Safari.

This is especially true for VPNs. Right now, none of the top VPN providers offer a browser extension for the latest version of Safari, but they do for Google Chrome. In essence, Chrome offers much more expandability and customization than Safari. 

Syncing 

Both web browsers offer solid syncing features. We like how Safari works in conjunction with a range of Apple features to offer a seamless browsing experience across all Apple products.

Combined with iCloud sync and Apple’s iCloud keychain software, you can move from your iPhone to your iPad to your Mac laptop without your browsing experience being interrupted, and your browsing history will also save automatically. Here’s the lowdown on how to get started with iCloud .

Safari also integrates into Mac’s other applications by default. So, if you use Mac apps like Apple Mail, Apple Calendar and iMessage, you’ll experience excellent continuity. We also like how, with compatible websites, you can use Apple Pay to pay for online shopping.

Google Chrome, though, also performs well on the continuity front. If you have a Google account, you can also sync your browsing experience across your other devices. While Google Chrome doesn’t enable Apple Pay, it has its own option — Google Pay — which you can enable for a faster payment experience.

So, Google Chrome and Safari are pretty much neck and neck when it comes to features but, with its greater levels of customization and vast library of web extensions, Google Chrome takes the lead in this round.

2. Ease of Use

Both Safari and Google Chrome are straightforward to use on desktop and mobile devices, so in this round, we analyzed which user interface felt more pleasant to use. Across iPhone and Mac, Chrome takes a slight lead here. 

Safari’s user interface is minimalist and easy to get your head around. The search bar is at the top of the screen on both desktop and mobile. The home screen is then decorated with widgets showing frequently visited websites, favorite websites and suggested reading based on your browsing experience. 

The experience is satisfactory and we also like how, if you open multiple tabs, you can click the four-square icon in the top right-hand corner of the browser to zoom out of all your open web pages, so it’s easy to find what you need.

Chrome is also really easy to use. The homepage — unless you change it — features the famous Google search bar, along with frequently visited websites below it. There’s also widgets in the top right-hand corner of the page, which give you quick access to Google applications like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Photos, Google Translate and YouTube. 

In terms of finding bookmarks, Google Chrome’s bookmarks are more seamlessly integrated into the browser, showing as small widgets below the search bar at the top of the page. To show bookmarks in Safari, you have to either manually click the bookmark tab in the control panel or enable the bookmark pane, which is quite big and invasive. 

Overall, while both are easy to use, the Google Chrome browser feels a bit more dynamic and user-friendly than Apple’s browser. 

3. Performance

We’ve come to what is arguably the most important round: the Safari vs Chrome speed test. We performed a benchmark test using Speedometer 2.0, JetStream 2 and MotionMark to compare Safari vs Chrome performance. 

We used a MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM and an Intel Core i5 CPU running at 2 GHz to run these tests. 

Benchmark Test Results

When it comes to speed, Chrome is the clear winner, reading 122.5 compared to 113.8 on Safari. While both are respectable scores, Chrome is undoubtedly the faster option. 

On JetStream, the tables turned. Safari’s reading was 125.705, putting it in the lead as Chrome’s score was 118.675. JetStream tests a browser’s ability to deal with complex JavaScript workloads. This indicates that Safari will perform better when executing complex applications — but only marginally. 

The last test we performed was MotionMark, which analyzes how the browser handles complex graphics. Chrome really shone in this test, coming in at 403.6 to Safari’s 356.31. This means that Chrome’s user experience and responsiveness outperforms Safari. 

One thing worth noting is that Safari is a more lightweight browser than Chrome. While it might not be as quick, Safari is more economical for iOS and Mac performance than Chrome in terms of battery life, especially with multiple tabs open. 

Despite this, with Chrome winning on two out of three of these mini rounds in the Safari vs Chrome benchmark test, it’s fair to say that Chrome is the overall winner when it comes to performance. 

4. Security

Both Safari and Chrome use Google’s Safe Browsing database to keep users safe from phishing and malware. They also both offer password management functionality.

If you use Google’s password manager or Safari’s iCloud keychain, you’ll also benefit from dark web monitoring, a feature that uses data analytics to alert you to the exposure of your passwords and email addresses in data leaks and breaches. 

Despite these similarities, Chrome slightly takes the lead in terms of security features. We like that Google sends out frequent browser updates for Chrome, ensuring regular patching from potential vulnerabilities. Safari’s updates, by contrast, are much more infrequent. 

Over the last few years, Google has gotten in trouble with data privacy regulators numerous times for its use of cookies and improper collection of personal data. Apple, by contrast, has managed to stay out of the headlines for these reasons. 

We’ve taken an in-depth look at the best browsers for your privacy , which you can take a look at here. 

While Google appears to have learned from its mistakes and is taking steps to bolster user privacy, Apple takes the lead in this round. We like that Safari features a dedicated “privacy report” feature, which shows how the browser is protecting you from online profiling and cross-site tracking through its intelligent tracking prevention software.

Chrome also offers a “privacy checkup” function, but it’s far less granular than Safari. Also, by default, your privacy isn’t prioritized. Google automatically enables personalized ads, as opposed to blocking them. Incognito mode, as always, doesn’t do much do actually protect your privacy.

This makes sense, as advertising is such a huge part of Google’s business model, but it means that you should probably use a VPN in conjunction with Chrome. For this reason, Safari wins this round. 

The Verdict

Ultimately, Safari and Chrome are both solid browser choices. For iPhone, iPad and Mac users looking for simplicity and deep integration across the Apple ecosystem, Safari is a good choice — and comes ready to go. 

However, it’s also well worth downloading Chrome and setting up a Google account if you haven’t already. Chrome is a leading browser for a reason. It’s fast, easy to use and comes with unparalleled customization options. 

Because of this, Chrome is our ultimate winner, but we do recommend you use it in conjunction with a VPN to ensure your online privacy. 

What are your thoughts on the battle between Chrome vs Safari? Do you agree that Chrome is the better browser overall, and why or why not? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading! 

Both Safari and Chrome are good browser choices for Apple users. However, Chrome takes the lead over Safari in terms of performance, ease of use and customization, making it a better all-round browser choice.

Safari and Chrome are both secure, and Safari actually uses Google’s Safe Browsing database. They are pretty much neck and neck when it comes to privacy and security, but if you’re concerned about your online privacy, we’d advise using a VPN.

Probably not. If you’re using Chrome, then Safari won’t offer you anything that you haven’t got already.

Great comparison, and I agree chrome wins in most everything. Review is missing a critical comparison, power consumption.

You mean on mobile?

I have win but I haven’t received any thing

I am pretty sure he means you didn’t include power consumption for desktop and mobile.

I use Safari because of the battery life and performance being pretty good. It does lack a robust extension store and isn’t cross platform outside of Apple’s OS ecosystem. Chrome has a significant market share on Mac OS because its cross platform and updates better if security is a priority for you. Safari lags in updates due to being tied to OS updates. WebKit is open sourced but mostly developed by Apple and is a fork of Chromium/Blink which Google and most other browsers use. Firefox is an option as well, but its always been slow and battery hungry as well.

Blink is actually a fork of WebKit, not the other way around.

fyi chrome uses safari’s rendering engine on iOS (as they’re not allowed to do otherwise) so speed is the same on iOS.

Firefox is much better nowadays in terms of performance and battery consumption (on MacBooks).

I Think Chrome is the browser with more day to day security and updates, for years I was a fan of Google Apps, but the fact that all of its apps are so resources’ hungry is annoying, I recently upgraded to 12GB RAM on my MacBook and the more RAM I add to my system the more RAM it uses, it’s incredibly annoying, when Safari handles everything faster with its simpler yet powerful and tidy design, using about 1/4 or less of the RAM used by Chrome, using the same websites, and the same amount of tabs open at the same time. Once I finish transferring my files from Google Drive I’ll switch everything to iCloud, it’s the way to go on a MacOS System.

Antonio, Please explain your like of Icloud. It’s the biggest annoyance.

It’s syncs seamlessly across all your devices – you can access them anywhere you can connect to the internet. It’s smart and even anticipates your needs, based on your file/folder usage behaviour.

If you’re finding it a massive annoyance then I imagine you’re *expecting* it to behave like Dropbox or Google Drive when that’s not what it was ever designed for.

Most people who find it frustrating do so because they don’t understand its purpose – I admit I fell in this camp for several years myself!

Took me years to realise that if you’re a Mac user, it’s pointless paying for eg 2TB of iCloud storage, if you don’t have 2TB of storage locally on your Mac. It’s not a storage extender like an external HD. It essentially replicates what’s on your Mac.

Not an ad, and am no way connected to him, but the ‘MacMost’ YT channel is an excellent free resource for both newcomers to Mac and experienced hands. Gary, the chap who runs it, has been around forever and watching his tutorial videos is like being taught by a friendly uncle. He has a rich, searchable back catalogue (with several on understanding iCloud!)

Regarding Chrome, I still love it – chiefly because of the vast library of extensions. I have 105 installed, but I’ve become far stricter about not keeping them all switched on all the time. I generally have about 12-15 on constantly; the rest I toggle on and off just when I need them. Seems the best of both worlds to me.

Chrome on iOS is more performant by safari. That is because, if you can choose safari, you have iOS. On iOS, chrome is always faster because it uses the same browser engine, webkit, with its own code to make it faster.

If you are on an Android phone with Google sync all across Google & Android products, Chrome is the winner!

The security on safari seems a little more liable other wise both are best but customisation wise chrome is a bit good

Liable to whom, and for what exactly? Or do you mean reliable? I’m unsure… Liable means legally responsible – do you mean Safari is run in a more legally compliant way? Please can you elaborate? Thanks

I reverted to Safari after I found that I couldn’t get a reader mode with Chrome for my iPhone and iPad.

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Is Safari Chromium-Based?

If you're curious about the inner workings of popular web browsers, you may have wondered, “Is Safari Chromium-based?” In this article, we'll delve into the relationship between Safari and Chromium, exploring their similarities, differences, and the impact of Chromium on Safari's performance. Let's dive in!

Safari's Rendering Engine

To understand the connection between Safari and Chromium, it's crucial to explore Safari's rendering engine known as WebKit. WebKit is the backbone of Safari, responsible for rendering web content and displaying it to users. While Chromium uses the Blink rendering engine, which is a fork of WebKit, Safari's implementation of WebKit is unique to its browser.

WebKit plays a pivotal role in Safari's performance, providing fast and efficient web page rendering. Although Chromium and Safari share a common ancestor in WebKit, each browser has evolved independently, resulting in distinct features and functionalities.

Safari and Chromium: Commonalities

While Safari and Chromium are not identical, they do share some commonalities. Both browsers prioritize user experience, offering a range of features and tools to enhance browsing. Additionally, Safari utilizes certain Chromium components to improve compatibility and performance.

One notable example is the integration of the WebKit JavaScript engine, known as JavaScriptCore, with V8, the JavaScript engine used in Chromium. This collaboration allows Safari to benefit from the advancements made in JavaScript execution and performance by the Chromium project.

Safari and Chromium: Differences

Despite some shared components, Safari and Chromium have notable differences. One significant distinction lies in their user interface and design. Safari features a sleek, minimalist design that aligns with Apple's overall aesthetic, while Chromium adopts a more utilitarian and customizable interface.

Furthermore, Safari boasts unique features that set it apart from Chromium. For instance, Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention is a privacy-focused feature that blocks cross-site tracking cookies, offering users a more secure and private browsing experience. Chromium, on the other hand, relies on third-party extensions to provide similar functionality.

The Verdict: Is Safari Chromium-Based?

After exploring the relationship between Safari and Chromium, we can conclude that Safari is not Chromium-based. While both browsers have roots in WebKit, they have diverged over time to develop their own features, user interfaces, and rendering engines.

Safari's utilization of certain Chromium components and its collaboration with the Chromium project showcases its commitment to improving performance and compatibility. However, it remains an independent browser with its own unique identity.

Final Thoughts

In the vast landscape of web browsers, Safari and Chromium stand out as powerful options for users. While they may share a common ancestry in WebKit, Safari and Chromium have evolved into distinct entities, each with its own set of features and functionalities.

So, if you've ever wondered whether Safari is Chromium-based, the answer is no. Safari stands on its own as a capable browser, leveraging WebKit to provide an exceptional browsing experience. Whether you're an avid Safari user or simply curious about the inner workings of web browsers, understanding these nuances can help you make informed choices when it comes to your browsing preferences.

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Safari vs Chromium

Safari has 227 reviews and a rating of 4.47 / 5 stars vs Chromium which has 30 reviews and a rating of 4.67 / 5 stars. Compare the similarities and differences between software options with real user reviews focused on features, ease of use, customer service, and value for money.

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Reviews are generated by real users. When reviewing a product, users are asked to assess the product’s overall quality, which includes assigning specific ratings for ease of use, value for money, customer support, and functionality.

• It is very light easy and gives best performance and its portable along with apple products.
• It provides privacy tracker feature that help me most to find out which websites stalk and try to track me,safari saved password is very protected with touch id or face id that was i like most.
• Sometimes it can have glitches with our other software, but that might be the other programs having problems on their own.
• I don't like that the menu bar with the search bar, tab menu, etc. gets hidden when you're scrolling as it can be annoying to get that back up to change tabs.
• Chromium is the open-source base of Google Chrome, as such it has all the features you would be used to such as the very useful Dev Tools etc.
• I really liked the security and privacy options. You can block third party cookies and scripts without needing any extensions, which is super neat.
• Moreover, the contact with the customer service is mainly done on the forum which can be confusing.
• There is always the problem of the browser hanging and slowing down.

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Chromium  vs  Safari

Need advice about which tool to choose ask the stackshare community, chromium vs safari: what are the differences, key differences between chromium and safari.

Chromium and Safari are two popular web browsers, each with its own set of features and functionalities. Here are the key differences between them:

Rendering Engine : Chromium uses the Blink rendering engine, which is developed by Google and is known for its speed and efficiency. Safari, on the other hand, uses the WebKit rendering engine, which is also highly optimized and offers excellent performance.

Operating System Compatibility : Chromium is compatible with various operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it a more versatile option. Safari, however, is exclusively designed for Apple devices and is the default browser on iOS and macOS.

Extensions and Plugins : Chromium offers a wide range of extensions and plugins from the Chrome Web Store, providing users with additional functionality and customization options. Safari also has a selection of extensions but is more limited in terms of the available options.

Privacy and Security Features : Both Chromium and Safari prioritize user privacy and security, but they approach it in different ways. Safari has built-in features like Intelligent Tracking Prevention and Enhanced Privacy mode to block third-party trackers and protect user data. Chromium relies more on third-party extensions and plugins to enhance privacy and security.

Integration with Services : Safari integrates seamlessly with other Apple services and features, such as iCloud Keychain for password management and Handoff for seamless browsing across devices. Chromium, being an open-source project, provides more flexibility and is not limited to any specific ecosystem.

Developer Tools and Support : Chromium offers robust developer tools and extensive documentation, making it a popular choice among web developers. Safari, on the other hand, provides its own set of developer tools that are tightly integrated with the Safari browser, allowing for efficient debugging and testing.

In Summary, Chromium and Safari differ in terms of their rendering engines, operating system compatibility, extension availability, privacy features, integration with services, and developer toolsets.

Pros of Chromium

Pros of safari.

• 4 More secure
• 3 More secure
• 3 Has Mac Extensions
• 3 Shows advanced tracking controls
• 3 Better privacy
• 3 Has fingerprinting
• 2 Awesome for developers
• 2 Way faster than edge
• 1 Good logo

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Cons of chromium, cons of safari.

• 2 Doesn't work on Windows
• 2 Tracks your every move
• 1 Webkit based
• 1 Stingy Apple product
• 1 Not cross-platform

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What is chromium, what is safari, what companies use chromium.

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Google Chrome

No, apple isn’t rebuilding safari on google’s chromium.

Today, the rumor going around is that Apple might be rebuilding their storied macOS browser Safari on top of Google’s Chromium, similar to Microsoft’s recent changes to Edge. However, the “evidence” for this just doesn’t add up.

The rumor, sourced from a sketchy Russian blog , claims that an Apple employee filed an issue on the Chromium Bug Tracker, seeking to enable a feature called Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP), which enforces limitations on the ways that ads and third-parties can track your browsing. ITP, as you would expect, is a Safari-exclusive feature.

Further, the blog shared two images, one of the bug report itself, and one of an attachment labeled “safari-on-chromium-alpha.png” In the attachment, we see Windows 10 supposedly running Apple’s Safari browser. However, once you start looking a little closer at the minute details, the credibility of this rumor falls apart.

Firstly, take notice of the bug number, 483593 . Notably, this bug is marked as private and therefore cannot be immediately verified as true or false. Thankfully, we know that the bug numbers issued by Chromium Bug Tracker are sequential, meaning a higher bug number is a newer bug. The next bug in order, 483594 , is public and is dated for 2015, while the bug shown in the screenshot is dated for December 24th, 2019.

Even setting that aside, there’s no evidence anywhere in the Chromium Gerrit of ITP or this Apple employee’s email address (arnoldbarber[at]apple.com). And as the final nail in the coffin, Maciej Stachowiak with Apple’s WebKit team has come out in direct denial of the rumor.

This is completely fake. No such plan. The supposed email address isn’t anyone on the Safari/WebKit teams, there is no ITP code in Chromium that could be enabled, and the screenshot is not a real Safari design. — Maciej Stachowiak 🇵🇱🇺🇦 (@othermaciej) December 27, 2019

Overall, this rumor is fake is a good thing. Whatever your feelings may be on which web browser is the best, competition is important to innovation. For Chrome to continue to improve, Google and Microsoft need healthy competition from rivals like Firefox and Safari.

More on Chromium:

• [Update: Chromium too] You can now search through Android Open Source Project code
• Microsoft’s Chromium Edge browser comes to Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1
• Google Chrome bug w/ latest update changes secondary profiles to ‘Person 1’

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Safari vs. Chrome on Mac: Which Browser Is Better?

Hashir Ibrahim

Reviewed by

Last updated: September 26, 2023

Expert verified

Safari is optimized for Mac, ensuring fast browsing, lower resource usage, strong privacy features, and seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem. However, it has limited extensions and infrequent updates.

Chrome stands out with its extensive customization options, extensions, and high-speed performance, but it can be resource-intensive and consume more battery.

• Safari is energy efficient, focuses on privacy, and integrates seamlessly with Apple devices: ideal for users prioritizing battery life and data protection.
• Chrome offers versatility with its wide range of extensions, customizable features, and slightly faster speed: suitable for users seeking personalization and performance.
• Both browsers have robust security features, but Safari emphasizes privacy, while Chrome offers customizable security extensions and frequent updates.
• So, Safari is a better choice for light internet browsing in Safari vs. Chrome on Mac, while Chrome excels at running heavy web applications.

Ever wondered which browser is the coolest for surfing the web on your Mac? Is it Safari or Chrome? Chrome is like a Swiss Army knife – super handy and flexible, while Safari is the speedy hometown hero, saving the day by being fast and keeping your secrets safe.

In this Safari vs. Chrome on Mac guide, I’ll compare these big shots and share the cool and not-so-cool stuff about them. By the end, you’ll know which browser is the winner for your Mac!

Google Chrome vs. Safari: A Quick Comparison

Before diving deep into the detailed exploration of Safari vs. Chrome on Mac, let’s glance at a quick comparison. This table highlights some key features and differences between the two browsers, giving you a snapshot of what each brings to the table.

Safari vs. Chrome: Pros & Cons

Here’s a quick rundown of the advantages and disadvantages of using Safari and Chrome on a Mac:

• Optimized for smooth and fast browsing on Mac
• Consumes less battery and system resources
• Strong privacy features and protections
• Seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem
• Enhanced multimedia support
• Infrequent updates can affect performance
• Limited cross-platform synchronization
• Limited availability of extensions

Google Chrome

• Regular updates ensure optimal performance
• Syncs seamlessly across multiple platforms
• Customizable privacy settings
• A wide array of extensions and customization
• Excels in running web applications
• Can be resource-intensive, affecting performance
• Tends to consume more battery life
• Privacy settings can be less robust than Safari
• Not as integrated with macOS as Safari

To sum up, the choice between Safari and Chrome largely depends on individual preferences, needs, and the specific use case.

If you’re someone like me who uses a lot of extensions only available on Chrome, you’ll have to stick with it. And if you’re just using a web browser for light internet browsing, then Safari seems to be a better choice in general.

Safari vs. Chrome on Mac: A Detailed Comparison

Both Chrome and Safari bring their unique strengths to the table. In this section, I’ll offer a detailed comparison of Safari vs. Chrome on Mac, diving into their features, performance, user experience, and more.

1. User Interface

When it comes to user interface, Safari is known for its simplicity and seamless integration with Apple devices. It’s easy on the eyes, and everything feels clean and organized.

Then there’s Chrome, packed with all sorts of goodies – you can open a bunch of tabs, switch between different user profiles, and even decorate it with cool themes.

But while Chrome is full of tasty bits, it can sometimes feel a bit too much. On the other hand, Safari keeps it sweet and simple, ensuring nothing gets in the way of your web adventures.

Verdict : If you’re all about keeping things neat and tidy, Safari is your go-to. But if you’re looking for a browser that’s as unique as you are, with all the bells and whistles, pick Chrome.

2. Features

Safari is like home for anyone using Apple gadgets. It’s super smooth, lets you open tabs across your Apple devices with iCloud, and even has a special Reader mode for a peaceful reading time, away from annoying ads. You can also use Touch ID and Face ID to confirm purchases on Safari.

But here comes Chrome, the adaptable browser that works well with different operating systems, whether you’re Team Android, Windows, or Apple. Chrome works really well with Chromecast and Google apps, like Google Translate, making it a handy buddy for all sorts of tasks.

Now, here’s where Safari really lags in terms of features – extensions. Chrome offers over 175,000 fun extensions, way more than Safari’s 350. Plus, you can make it look just the way you want with cool themes and backgrounds.

Verdict : So, who wins the feature face-off? It’s Chrome! With its endless features and the ability to make it truly yours, Chrome is your best bet for a fun and personalized surfing ride.

3. Speed and Performance

Safari is known for being light on its feet, using less RAM than Chrome. This means it can juggle more tasks at once, like opening many tabs and running heavy websites. Plus, for gaming enthusiasts, Safari promises a smoother ride through the high-res gaming world.

Chrome, on the other hand, is like a techy sprinter with gadgets up its sleeve. It’s tab isolation keeps each tab in check, so if one tab is acting up, it won’t trip the whole browser. And, if Chrome senses a tab is just lazing around, it’ll put it on pause to save energy.

But, with all its gadgets, Chrome can sometimes feel heavy, munching more battery and making other apps slow.

Now, let’s talk speed!

Benchmark Test Results

When browsing the web, speed is key. I put Safari and Chrome to the test to see how they perform in terms of speed and overall performance, focusing on these factors:

• How they handle lots of use
• How they deal with websites full of graphics

For my test, I used three tools: JetStream 2, MotionMark, and Speedometer, running them on a MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and an Apple M1 processor.

Here are the results:

Several experts have posted the results of the Speedometer 2.0 test for JS/web performance on the MacBook Pro M1 Max on Twitter . The device scored 277 in this test, nearly doubling the speed of the fastest desktop iMac and marking a 20% improvement over the standard M1 MacBook.

• Javascript (JetStream) : Chrome slightly outperforms Safari, but the difference is marginal.
• Graphics (MotionMark) : Safari leads, indicating a smoother user experience for graphically intensive applications.
• Responsiveness (Speedometer) : Chrome significantly outshines Safari, making it a better choice for tasks requiring quick interactions.

Verdict : So, while Safari excels in graphics performance, Chrome has the upper hand in Javascript processing and responsiveness, making it a versatile choice for varied web tasks on a MacBook Air with an Apple M1 processor.

4. Privacy and Security

Safari is all about keeping your data safe and your browsing private. It protects you from unwanted trackers and offers a smooth ride, especially if you’re using Apple gadgets.

On the other hand, Chrome is armed with customizable security features and speedy performance. It’s always looking for online threats, but its knack for collecting data might make some users think twice.

Despite excellent security features, Chrome’s popularity makes it a target for hackers, and its password manager is confined to the browser on Apple devices. Its unclear privacy policy and dependence on advertising might raise concerns about data misuse.

Verdict : It’s a draw! Chrome leads with customizable security, while Safari excels in password management. Apple users may favor Safari for its iCloud integration, but Chrome is a strong contender for more security control.

5. Extensions

Picking between Safari and Chrome is all about what extras you like! Chrome has a huge selection, with over 175,000 extensions. So, if you want to block ads, check your grammar, or change up your themes, Chrome’s got your back.

Safari plays it cool with fewer but top-notch extensions. It’s not about quantity but quality, right? Plus, Safari lets you use extensions on your iPhone and iPad, something Chrome hasn’t mastered yet.

But here’s the twist! More extensions in Chrome can mean slower loading times on some websites. And while Safari keeps it simple and secure, Chrome offers customization for those who love tinkering around.

Verdict : So, Chrome is the clear winner of the extension war! Its vast array of options makes it the go-to for those craving variety. But Safari would do if you’re an Apple fan looking for quality and mobile-friendly extensions.

Should I Use Safari or Chrome on Mac?

If you prioritize privacy and seamless integration with Apple devices, Safari is the way to go on Mac. However, if you value extensive customization, a wide range of extensions, and high-speed performance, Chrome is your best bet.

Choosing the best browser ultimately hinges on your specific needs and preferences. Here are a few more tips for you:

• If you have a slow internet connection on your Mac , it can interfere with your browser’s performance.
• If Safari is crashing on your Mac , disable unnecessary browser extensions , clear Safari cache , and delete Safari history to prevent random crashes.
• You can improve your browser’s performance by regularly clearing the browser cache on your Mac .

Frequently Asked Questions

Is safari better than chrome.

Safari and Chrome both have their strengths. Safari is known for being more energy-efficient and privacy-focused, making it a great choice for Apple users. Chrome, however, offers a vast array of extensions and is slightly faster, making it versatile for those who prioritize customization and speed.

Does Safari use less battery than Chrome?

Yes, Safari is known for using less battery than Chrome. It’s optimized for energy efficiency, especially on Apple devices, making it a preferred choice for users looking to maximize battery life. Chrome, while feature-rich, tends to consume more power, which can lead to faster battery drain.

Is Safari safer than Google Chrome?

Safari and Google Chrome offer robust security features but excel in different areas. Safari is known for its strong privacy protections, especially for Apple users, while Chrome offers frequent updates and a vast array of customizable security extensions.

I'm Hashir, a tech journalist with a decade of experience. My work has been featured in some of the top tech publications like MakeUseOf and MakeTechEasier. I have a bachelor's degree in IT, a master's in cybersecurity, and extensive knowledge of Apple hardware, specifically MacBooks. As the senior writer at MacBook Journal, I write in depth guides that help you solve any issues you have with your mac and unbiased reviews that help you make the right buying decisions.

Hi there! I'm Ojash, a tech journalist with over a decade of experience in the industry. I've had the privilege of contributing to some of the world's largest tech publications, making my mark as a respected Mac expert. My passion lies in exploring, using, and writing about MacBooks, and I enjoy sharing my expertise to help others make informed decisions and get the most out of their MacBook experience. Join me as we delve into the fascinating world of MacBooks together!

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AAPL Company

New iphone browsers on the way without webkit; apple prepping safari for competition.

We may soon see entirely new iPhone browsers available, as both Google and Mozilla anticipate the end of Apple’s insistence that all iOS browsers use the same WebKit engine as Safari .

This will enable new versions of Chrome and Firefox to offer greater feature differentiation, and for the first time allow them to aim for faster performance than Safari …

Currently, anyone can create a new iPhone browser, but with one huge restriction: Apple insists that it uses the same WebKit rendering engine as Safari.

That effectively means that all iOS browsers are the same under the hood. This limits the number of new features which can be offered by competing browsers, and also means it’s impossible to create an iPhone browser which renders pages faster than Safari.

However, the growing antitrust pressure facing Apple includes claims that the WebKit requirement is anticompetitive . For example, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that:

Apple bans alternatives to its own browser engine on its mobile devices; a restriction that is unique to Apple. The CMA is concerned this severely limits the potential for rival browsers to differentiate themselves from Safari (for example, on features such as speed and functionality) and limits Apple’s incentives to invest in its browser engine. This restriction also seriously inhibits the capability of web apps – apps that run on a browser rather than having to be individually downloaded – depriving consumers and businesses of the full benefits of this innovative technology.

Apple is therefore expected to drop the WebKit requirement sooner rather than later. In particular, the European Digital Markets Act looks set to force the hand of the iPhone maker, with reports that Apple will drop the requirement as part of iOS 17 later this year.

New iPhone browsers without WebKit

Both Google and Mozilla are now working on new iOS browsers which use the same rendering engines as their desktop browsers.

For Google’s Chrome, that’s Blink :

Google’s Chromium team has moved full steam ahead on porting Blink to iOS, introducing dozens of related code changes in the past week. At the pace things are progressing, we may have our first look at the browser engine for Chrome — and Microsoft Edge, Opera, and more — running on iOS in the coming weeks.

Top comment by pika2000

Apple needs to put Safari on Windows (again) and Android if they want Safari to not die out. Keeping Safari only on Apple device will seal its fate.

For Mozilla’s Firefox, it’s Gecko :

Mozilla is planning for the day when Apple will no longer require its competitors to use the WebKit browser engine in iOS. Mozilla conducted similar experiments that never went anywhere years ago but in October 2022 posted an issue in the GitHub repository housing the code for the iOS version of Firefox that includes a reference to GeckoView, a wrapper for Firefox’s Gecko rendering engine.

The latter had seemed at the time to be for internal use only, but now appears to be aiming for a public app.

Apple preparing for Safari competition

The Register reports that Apple recognizes the threat posed by real competition in iPhone browsers, and is beefing up its development team.

Safari developed a reputation for lagging behind Chrome and Firefox. Apple, however, appears to be aware of the risk posed by regulators and has added more staff to the WebKit team to close the capabilities gap.

Photo:  Sameer / Unsplash

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Safari vs Chrome: Which browser should you use on your Mac?

Published on May 31, 2022

Apple’s Mac computers and its Safari browser have gone hand in hand for years now. It’s a solid app, perfectly tuned for macOS, but what if you want something different? If you have an Android phone, you might be drawn to the dark side of Chrome instead. Let’s stack Safari vs Chrome in the ultimate browser battle and see which is better for your needs.

See also: These Chrome Flags will improve your web-browsing experience

We’ll walk through most of the key features of each browser. After all, you may spend hours working in a browser every day, so you want to pick the best one. Ready to crown a winner? Let’s get started.

Is appearance everything?

We’re not here to argue which browser looks better, but careful design can go a long way. In many ways, this battle comes down to Apple vs Google. You might immediately lean one way or the other based purely on appearances.

Take tab organization, for example. In Safari, you’ll find a grid layout that makes it easy to find any tab in seconds on a desktop. However, Safari turns its tabs into a deck of cards on mobile, requiring you to swipe through an endless list. You can only see the top of each tab, which can be confusing if you have multiple tabs open from one site.

Over on Chrome, you’ll become good friends with the tab bar in a hurry. You can keep adding tabs as much as you want, and they’ll shrink to accommodate new windows. It’s not a bad setup until you can’t read your tabs. Eventually, they’ll be a website logo and an exit button, and you’ll have to cycle through each one.

Chrome can’t seem to make up its mind when it comes to mobile tabs. It’s gone through a few grid layouts, and you can now open new tabs inside tab groups. The idea is to bundle related tabs together, but it’s mostly an easy way to get lost.

How do the Safari and Chrome features stack up?

As you might expect, Chrome is the way to go if you’re part of Google’s ecosystem. If you have a Chromecast or some Google Nest devices, getting the most out of them will be far easier. You can right-click just about anywhere in Chrome and look for the Cast option any time you want to put your content on TV, too.

Chrome even comes with Google Translate built right in, so you can translate foreign web pages in seconds. There are thousands of other extensions you can explore as well, and Chrome even has a task manager on board in case you have to halt hefty processes.

See also:  The best privacy web browsers for Android

Safari, however, is the king of continuity. If you have an iPad, iPhone , or a Mac, you can easily pass windows and tabs between them. It’s an easy way to take an article with you if you didn’t have time to read it all. Furthermore, you can use your other Apple security measures to verify purchases. Once you check out on Safari, you’ll be prompted for Touch ID or Face ID to protect your purchase.

Unfortunately, it took Apple until Safari 14 to finally introduce extensions. You can now add Grammarly and select password managers to your browser, which brings Safari more in line with features that Chrome has had for a while.

Also, Safari is still unavailable outside of the Apple realm. It’s really only your best bet if you’re all-in on iOS and macOS. If you have a Windows PC or an Android phone, you’ll have to look at Firefox or Chrome for access across all of your devices. It’s not exactly easy to battle Safari vs Chrome when you can only download one of the browsers on half of your devices.

What security and privacy measures are there?

Feeling safe online is an important part of any browser, and it’s a key part of Safari vs Chrome. Both browsers make use of Google’s Safe Browsing database to guard against phishing schemes and other malware. It’s a great way to know that someone is looking out for you while you go about your day, even if you end up sending a lot of data straight to Google.

However, the biggest difference between the browsers comes in update frequency. Updates are an important way to stay ahead of cybercriminals, and Google Chrome has the easy advantage. Safari updates are often tied to macOS changes, but Chrome can push changes whenever it needs to. In fact, you’ll probably get some form of a patch just about every two weeks.

Both browsers block popups by default , but Chrome goes a step further to point out when you venture to an unsafe site. It displays a Not secure warning as well as a small popup window. Safari, on the other hand, indicates safety with a small green lock icon.

While we’re happy to give Google points for security, privacy is another matter entirely. The Mountain View-based company isn’t shy about wanting all of the data it can get its hands on, though it usually explains things away by trying to improve your experience. Common features like website recommendations and predictive search have to come from somewhere, don’t they?

Apple also collects all sorts of information on Safari, including names, locations, and IP addresses. It can share this information as needed, even if it claims not to share encrypted devices with authorities.

See also:  How to clear your browser or system cache on a Mac

Is one browser easier to use?

Ease of use in Safari vs Chrome is a fairly subjective point, and it probably depends on your other devices. You’re probably used to Safari if you’re coming from an iPhone, while Android users are probably more comfortable in Chrome. You’ll have to consider which tab setup is easier for your own use, but it’s not hard to adjust between the two.

One of the biggest drawbacks to Safari is that you can’t tinker with settings in the app. You’ll have to head over to Apple’s dedicated settings app if you want to change something. Chrome’s settings — like most browsers — are right in the app, which makes life easy if you want to change on the fly.

Safari vs Chrome: Which browser wins?

We’ve hinted at it here and there, but the winner of Safari vs Chrome comes down to your needs. If you live completely inside Apple’s ecosystem, you’ll be better off with Safari. The Handoff feature is tough to top, and it’s nice to have some extra security around your purchases. However, you’ll probably want to fire up Chrome if you have other Android or Windows devices in your house. It’s the only way you can still share tabs and login information between devices.

Although we’ve gone pretty deep into Safari vs Chrome, they’re not your only options. If you haven’t been swayed one way or the other, then it might be time to switch things up. There are tons of other browsers to consider, and we’ll touch on a few favorites.

See also:  The best Android browsers for surfing whatever website you want

Are there any good alternatives?

Brave Browser

One of the newer browsers, Brave Browser , launched in 2016 with plenty of features. It packs a built-in ad blocker and features HTTPS just about everywhere you look. Brave offers per-site settings adjustments, and you can even track what you’re blocking. Perhaps best of all is the fact that Brave Browser is free.

See also:  Should you switch to Brave Web Browser?

Opera is another good browser alternative, and its messaging feature helps to clean up your overall experience. You won’t have to jump between apps, just open a small message window and keep chats going while you go about your day. Opera also has a built-in ad blocker to keep things smooth and an included VPN if you’re hoping to enjoy geo-restricted content.

If you’re worried about privacy, DuckDuckGo is a good option. Like Brave, it relies heavily on HTTPS and offers a private search mode. It even goes so far as to give each website you visit a privacy rating from A through F. You can’t sync all of your passwords, but the close button wipes your browsing data which is a nice bonus.

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WebKit Features in Safari 17.5

May 13, 2024

by Jen Simmons

Happy May! It’s time for another release of Safari — our third significant update of 2024. With just a month until WWDC24 and the unveiling of what’s coming later this year, we are happy to get these 7 features and 22 bug fixes into the hands of your users today.

There are several exciting new CSS features in Safari 17.5, including text-wrap: balance , the light-dark() color function, and @starting-style , plus the ability to use feature queries with @import rules. Let’s look at how you can put each one to use.

Text wrap balance

On the web, with its flexible container widths, inconsistent lengths of content, and variation between browsers, it can feel impossible to avoid having text wrap in such a way that too few words end up all by themselves on a very short last line.

When type was set by hand, typographers would painstakingly avoid this undesirable result by manually moving content around. Over the decades, web developers have tried a series of different tricks to avoid orphans in CSS, in HTML, in JavaScript, and in content management systems. None work very well. The attempts usually feel hacky, laborious, and fragile.

To solve this and other frustrations, the CSS Working Group has defined three new options that you can use to change how text will wrap. You can switch from default wrapping to another style with text-wrap . WebKit for Safari 17.5 adds support for the first of these new options — balancing.

The text-wrap: balance rule asks the browser to “balance” the lines of text and make them all about the same length.

You can see how now the text no longer fills the containing block — there’s a large amount of space on the right of the words. This is expected, and something you’ll want to think about as you decide when to use text-wrap: balance .

Where exactly each line of text will break when using text-wrap: balance may be slightly different in each browser. The CSS Text level 4 web standard leaves it up to each browser engine team to decide which algorithm they want to use in determining how exactly to wrap balanced text.

It can be computationally expensive for the browser to count characters and balance multiple lines of text, so the standard allows browsers to limit the number of lines that are balanced. Chromium browsers balance 6 or fewer lines, Firefox balances 10 or fewer, while Safari/WebKit balances an unlimited numbers of lines.

For now, Safari does not balance text if it’s surrounding a float or initial letter. And Safari disables the balancer if the content contains preserved tabs or soft hyphens.

Text wrap shorthands and longhands

The text-wrap property is actually a shorthand for two longhand properties: text-wrap-style and text-wrap-mode .

The text-wrap-mode property provides a mechanism for expressing whether or not text should wrap.

The wrap value turns it on, and the nowrap value turns it off, just like the values for white-space . (In fact, text-wrap-mode is the newly introduced longhand of white-space .) WebKit added support for text-wrap-mode: wrap and nowrap in Safari 17.4 .

The text-wrap-style property selects how to wrap. The initial value is auto — asking text to wrap in the way it has for decades. Or, you can choose a value to switch to another “style” of wrapping.

WebKit for Safari 17.5 adds support for text-wrap-style: balance , stable , and auto .

Of course, the text-wrap shorthand is a way to combine text-wrap-mode and text-wrap-style and declare them together. If you write text-wrap: balance it’s the same as text-wrap: wrap balance , meaning: “yes, please wrap, and when you do, please balance the text”.

Full support will eventually include three properties and six values. No browser supports everything yet, so be sure to look up support for the text-wrap , text-wrap-mode , and text-wrap-style properties, as well as the balance , pretty , stable , auto , wrap , and nowrap values.

The balance , pretty , and stable values will simply fall back to auto in browsers without support, so progressive enhancement is easy. You can use these values today, no matter how many of your users don’t yet have a browser with support. They will simply get auto -wrapped text, just like they would if you didn’t use text-wrap . Meanwhile, those users with support will get an extra boost of polish.

Dark mode and the light-dark() color function

More and more, users expect websites and web apps to support dark mode . Since Safari 12.1 , the prefers-color-scheme media query has given you the ability to write code like this:

Or perhaps you’ve used variables to define colors for both light and dark mode at once, making it easier to use them everywhere.

Well, now there’s a new option — the light-dark() function. It makes defining colors for dark mode even easier.

First, inform the browser you are providing a design for both light and dark modes with the color-scheme property. This prompts the browser to switch the default user agent styles when in dark mode, ensuring the form controls appear in dark mode, for example. It’s also required for light-dark() to work correctly.

Then, any time you define a color, you can use the light-dark() function to define the first color for light mode, and the second color for dark mode.

You can still use variables, if you’d like. Perhaps you want to structure your code like this.

An often-asked question when learning about light-dark() is “does this only work for colors?” Yes, this function only works for colors. Use the prefers-color-scheme media query to define the rest of your color-scheme dependent styles.

Starting style

WebKit for Safari 17.5 adds support for @starting-style . It lets you define starting values for a particular element. This is needed to enable a transition when the element’s box is created (or re-created).

In the above example, the background-color will transition from transparent to green when the element is added to the document.

Many developers are excited to use @starting-style along with display: none interpolation. To do so, WebKit also needs to support animation of the display property, which has not yet shipped in Safari. You can test this use case today in Safari Technology Preview .

Features queries for importing CSS

WebKit for Safari 17.5 adds the supports() syntax to @import rules. Now you can conditionally import CSS files based on whether or not there’s support for a certain feature.

For example, you could load different stylesheets based on whether or not CSS Nesting is supported .

Or you could load certain CSS files when a browser does not have support for Cascade Layers . (Note that any @import rules with layer() will automatically be ignored in a browser without layer support.)

Or simply test for a feature. Here, these layout styles will only be loaded if Subgrid is supported .

WebKit for Safari 17.5 adds support for AV1 to WebCodecs when an AV1 hardware decoder is available.

WebKit for Safari 17.5 adds WebGL support for EXT_conservative_depth and NV_shader_noperspective_interpolation .

WKWebView adds support for logging MarketplaceKit errors to the JavaScript console. This will make errors easier to debug.

Bug Fixes and more

In addition to these new features, WebKit for Safari 17.5 includes work polishing existing features.

Accessibility

• Fixed a bug preventing VoiceOver word echoing in some text fields. (122451549) (FB13592798)
• Fixed flickering with multiple accelerated animations and direction changes. (117815004)

Authentication

• Fixed excludeCredentials property being ignored during a passkey registration request. (124405037)
• Fixed the proximity calculation for implicit @scope . (124640124)
• Fixed the Grid track sizing algorithm logical height computation avoid unnecessary grid item updates. (124713418)
• Fixed any @scope limit making the element out of scope. (124956673)
• Fixed native text fields becoming invisible in dark mode. (123658326)
• Fixed fallback native <select> rendering in dark mode. (123845293)
• Fixed scrolling for an element when a video element with pointer-events: none is placed over it. (118936715)
• Fixed HTML5 <audio> playback to continue to the next media activity when in the background. (121268089) (FB13551577)
• Fixed AV1 to decode in hardware on iPhone 15 Pro. (121924090)
• Fixed audio distortion over internal speakers when streaming content in web browsers. (122590884)
• Fixed firing loadeddata events for <audio> and <video> on page load. (124079735) (FB13675360)
• Fixed adjusting the size of the scrollable area when changing betwen non-overlay and overlay scrollbars. (117507268)
• Fixed flickering when showing a layer on a painted background for the first time by avoiding async image decoding. (117533495)
• Fixed line breaking before or between ruby sequences. (122663646)
• Fixed mousemove events in an iframe when the mouse is clicked from outside the iframe and then moves into it while the button is held down. (120540148) (FB13517196)
• Fixed several issues that caused Web Push to not show notifications when the web app or Safari was not already running. (124075358)

Web Inspector

• Fixed info and debug buttons not appearing in the Console Tab until new console messages are displayed. (122923625)
• Fixed WebCodecs to correctly use the VP9 hardware decoder. (123475343)
• Fixed no incoming video in Teams VA. (124406255)
• Fixed the camera pausing occasionally when torch is enabled. (124434403)

Updating to Safari 17.5

Safari 17.5 is available on iOS 17.5 , iPadOS 17.5 , macOS Sonoma 14.5 , macOS Ventura, macOS Monterey and in visionOS 1.2.

If you are running macOS Ventura or macOS Monterey, you can update Safari by itself, without updating macOS. On macOS Ventura, go to  > System Settings > General > Software Update and click “More info…” under Updates Available.

To get the latest version of Safari on iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro, go to Settings > General > Software Update, and tap to update.

We love hearing from you. To share your thoughts on Safari 17.5, find us on Mastodon at @[email protected] and @[email protected] . Or send a reply on X to @webkit . You can also follow WebKit on LinkedIn . If you run into any issues, we welcome your feedback on Safari UI, or your WebKit bug report about web technologies or Web Inspector. Filing issues really does make a difference.

Download the latest Safari Technology Preview on macOS to stay at the forefront of the web platform and to use the latest Web Inspector features.

You can also find this information in the Safari 17.5 release notes .

6 Reasons You Should Use Chrome Over Safari on Your Mac

Safari may be the default browser on your Mac, but we think there are good reasons to switch to Chrome instead.

There are a variety of different browsers that you can use on your Mac, such as Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Chrome. With so many options, it can be hard to choose which one best suits your needs.

Safari is among the most commonly used browsers on Mac for a number of reasons, primarily for its convenience. However, if you take the extra step to download Chrome, you will discover that its user experience and customization have more to offer than Safari.

So if you're torn between Safari and Chrome, here are all the reasons to pick Chrome.

1. Chrome Has More Extensions Than Safari

Simply put, extensions are additions that you can install onto your web browser, allowing for extra features and customizations that would otherwise be unavailable. Google Translate is a great example of what many extensions are like. It allows you to quickly translate what you read on the web, which can be useful if you need to read something in a foreign language.

There is absolutely no contest when it comes to which browser allows for more extensions. Google Chrome offers a plethora of options on the Chrome Web Store .

With 12 categories to choose from, there are a variety of paths you can take to refine your browser. If you need more professionally focused extensions, Chrome offers categories ranging from Developer Tools to Productivity. Additionally, if you want casual extensions less geared toward work, Sports, Fun, and Shopping might be where to start.

What's more, Chrome offers more free extensions than the total number of extensions offered by Safari

Safari currently supports only 66 app extensions in the Mac App Store . However, only 27 of these are actually free, with the majority of the available extensions being $2 or more. Although this is relatively cheap, it starts to add up when you install more than one extension..

2. It's Easier to Add Extensions in Chrome

In Safari, installing extensions is confusing and somewhat tricky. After selecting the extension you wish to install from the App Store, you will need to verify your identity by signing in to your Apple ID account. Next, you will need to open your Mac's System Preferences , go to Extensions , and manually enable the various features of the extension.

This process is much easier on Chrome. After finding the perfect extension on the Chrome Web Store, just click Add to Chrome , then Add Extension . The extension will then immediately begin to install and you will have instant access to its features.

3. Chrome Updates More Consistently Than Safari

Considering that Chrome is the fastest browser to use on a Mac , bug updates are a key part of how well your browser runs. If there are bugs that need to be fixed, but the frequency at which repairs occur is slow, then you will be stuck with those bugs a long time, impacting your day-to-day browsing experience.

Over the last several years, Safari has updated around nine times annually. This leaves between five and six weeks per update. By limiting the number of updates per year, Safari limits its ability to fix bugs. This generally serves to hinder Safari's ability to provide the best possible browsing experience, especially if there are significant bugs that emerge in the period between updates.

Conversely, Chrome updates approximately every two to four weeks, averaging far more updates than Safari over the past few years. Releasing more updates allows Chrome to patch bugs sooner, as well as introducing features and improvements more frequently.

The more times Chrome is updated, even if an individual update is quite small, allows for more things to be fixed or added over the course of the year.

4. Chrome Shortcuts Are Easier to Save

Shortcuts are Google Chrome's way of streamlining how you get to the websites you use the most. When added, shortcuts will appear on the New Tab page. Safari offers a similar feature in its Favorites.

Both Safari and Chrome require that you have the URL for the site you wish to add, which can be easily accomplished by loading the page beforehand. But Shortcuts are simpler to add and remove on Chrome than Favorites on Safari. Chrome displays a clear Add shortcut button directly below the search field in a new window. However, Safari requires that you know which unlabeled button to click, which can be a hurdle at first.

To add a shortcut on Chrome, open a new window, click the Add shortcut button, and paste the URL of the desired website into the lower text field. Optionally, you can add a name to your shortcut in the upper text field.

5. Chrome Themes Offer More Customization

Themes are a feature on Chrome that you can use to change the browser's appearance and background. This allows you to personalize how new tabs appear on your Mac. On Safari, you can also customize your new tab backgrounds. However, Safari only offers nine background images, all of which are pretty generic. Chrome offers hundreds of themes, ranging from beautiful landscapes to shots of Formula One race cars.

Themes are extremely easy to add. To install a theme, open the Chrome Web Store , click Themes , then select the theme you wish to add.

6. Safari Is Limited to Apple Devices

Safari is only available on Apple devices running iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. In contrast, Chrome is available on any platform, so the number of devices out there that are capable of running Chrome is far greater than Safari.

As dominant as Apple is in some areas, plenty of people also use Android phones or Windows computers, which they can't use with Safari. So if you ever might need to use a non-Apple device, Google Chrome is a much better browser to choose, since you can stick to the same browser everywhere.

Do More With Chrome

Chrome offers more extensions and frequent bug fixes compared to Safari. Given that Safari is only available with Apple devices, you can also enjoy a more seamless browsing experience across multiple devices if you go with Chrome.

Sure, there are other reasons you might want to use Safari—especially since it is pre-installed on every Mac—but we think Chrome is definitely the best option if you want more flexibility.

The Little Known Safari Feature Even Google Chrome Can't Do On iPhone

With every new version of iOS comes a slew of useful upgrades that could change the way you do certain tasks on your iPhone. Most of these updates improve upon the functionality of Apple's slate of built-in apps. In the case of Safari, thanks to the latest version of iOS 17, iPhone's mobile browser now lets you create multiple profiles to keep work-related searches separate from your personal ones. It's also more responsive and does a better job of providing more applicable suggestions that match your original query.

Of the many useful and game-changing Safari features you can take advantage of on your iPhone, one was actually first introduced with iOS 15: the ability to create tab groups. On a computer, this feature is incredibly essential for those who use web browsers regularly and need to organize and consolidate the many pages they have open. Not many mobile browsers offer this functionality. Based on testing, tabs can't be added to groups through Google Chrome on iOS.

If you own an iPhone and happen to have a different default web browser assigned, find out why it may be worth reverting to Safari and make using tab groups one of your mobile browsing habits.

How tab groups work in Safari on iPhone

If you're the sort of person who likes to click on links and read them on Safari, a "tab group" is essentially a feature that lets you compile several webpages currently open on your mobile browser app into collections. Although you can technically add any page to any tab group, the function is more useful as a method for organizing all the links you have yet to read into similar, smaller, more manageable sets and allows you to find the page you need more easily. For instance, you can add recipe pages to a Food tab group, news articles to a Current Events tab group, and Reddit threads to a Random Learning tab group. You get the idea.

To add an open Safari web page to a new tab group using your iPhone:

• Launch the Safari app.
• Tap the Tabs view switcher. It's the two-square icon in the bottom navigation bar.
• Long-press on one of the page tiles you'd like to add to a tab group.
• Select Move to Tab Group.
• Tap New Tab Group.
• Type in your desired name and hit Move.

Once you have several tab groups in place, you can easily switch between them by tapping the Tabs icon and swiping left or right on the tab group name carousel at the bottom of the screen. You can also hit the List icon between "+" and Done to see all the tab groups you created in one go.

Other things you can do to Safari tab groups on an iPhone

To rename a tab group, tap the Tabs icon and then hit the List icon between "+" and Done at the bottom of the screen. Then follow these steps:

• Tap the three-dot icon next to the tab group name you want to update.
• Select Rename.
• Enter a new name.

If you'd like to finetune the theme of your tab groups so that collated pages are more relevant to each other in terms of content, you can opt to move a tab from one group to another:

• Open the tab you'd like to relocate on Safari.
• Long-press on the Tabs icon.
• Pick a group you've already created, or create a new one entirely.

You can also improve organization within tab groups by reordering them according to your preferences: 

• Tap the Tabs icon.
• Swipe on the tab group names at the bottom of the screen till you get to the one you want to rearrange. 
• Long-press on any tab in the group and drag it to your preferred spot. 
• Alternatively, you can long-press on any tab in the group, select Arrange Tabs By from the menu, and pick one of the sorting options.

Finally, you can pin an open tab to prioritize it from other links in the collection:

• Select the tab group you want from the bottom navigation bar.
• Long-press on the tab you want to pin.
• Select Pin Tab from the menu.

This will minimize the tab to a smaller size, but it will always stay at the top of the tab group it belongs to, so it's the first thing you see when you view the collection.