Google Chrome vs. Safari

[mdlv]

I own an early 2011 15" MacBook Pro. I'm in the process of downloading Mountain Lion, so currently it's operating on Lion.

I'm also debating on downloading Google Chrome. So is there anything beneficial that Chrome can offer that Safari can not? My fiancé is a big Android fan, so of course he is 100% bias and attempts to persuade me that Chrome is 10X better than Safari.

I hope this isn't a stupid question, if so I apologize in advance. I've tried to do research on both of the browsers but I just can't seem to figure out if I should download Chrome or not.

Suggestions, ideas, and inputs are welcomed!

[SuperJudge]

Not a stupid question at all.

Here's the advantages to Chrome, as I see them:

• Plugins via the Chrome Web Store
• Being able to sync those plugins (along with bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords, etc.) across multiple machines and multiple OSes.
• Each tab runs as a separate process. A bad bit of Javascript or a Flash heavy page can't crash your whole browser session.
• A minimalist interface

Since it's free to download and use, I don't see any harm in at least trying out Chrome. If you like it, awesome. If not, you can go back to using Safari. No harm done.

[dba415]

I use Safari. I like the cool top sites feature, and it's already installed so why install something else?

[Dark Void]

It's more a difference based solely off of preference, not necessarily a case where you should or should not install it based off of some ultimate reasoning.

My advice would be to download and install Chrome, try it out, and find out how you like it in comparison to Safari.

[Silmarien]

Do gestures like pinch zoom and back work in chrome too? I went from firefox to safari cause of their lack.

[mdlv]

I have Chrome installed on my desktop, but I rarely ever use that computer. Especially since I bought my MacBook about a year ago.
I appreciate everyone's input and kindness.

I'll give it go and see how it works for me.
I mean, it's not like I can't uninstall Chrome if I don't like it.

[SuperJudge]

Originally Posted by Silmarien

Do gestures like pinch zoom and back work in chrome too? I went from firefox to safari cause of their lack.

Yes. I went from Firefox to Chrome because Chrome offers a better native OS X experience.

[Orlandoech.com]

I prefer Safari.

[gbit]

chrome misses intelligent zoom

[rrm998]

As a new Mac user, I started with Safari under ML for the Retina support. But I missed the ability to "two finger tap" on a bookmark to open a menu in Chrome or Firefox. I use this open the bookmark in a new tab. As far as I could tell, the only way to do this in Safari is Command click. This means I need two hands to surf the web.

Now I have Chrome on all my devices and share bookmarks and passwords between them. Very handy. (Yes, I was doing this with Safari too).

Firefox would actually be my first choice but with no Retina support, I've gotten to like Chrome.

[maxwelltech]

I have always been using Chrome for the past few years when I am still using PCs, and I continued to use Chrome for a while after I switch to Mac. I was a really big supporter of Chrome. Recently my friend told me to try out the new Safari in Mountain Lion. I really liked it! The design is more elegant, the speed is (slightly) faster, and it has a few nice features that are not in Chrome. I exported my old bookmarks in Chrome as an HTML file, and imported it into Safari. The entire migration process took less than a minute.
I still recommend you to try out Chrome to see if you like it or not. After all, it is free anyway.

[takeshi74]

Originally Posted by mdlv

I'll give it go and see how it works for me.
I mean, it's not like I can't uninstall Chrome if I don't like it.

Definitely the best way to answer your question as preference plays a big part in browser selection.

[stevelam]

if you've been fine with safari, just use it. most people who stick with safari don't do much except basic stuff. thats fine. chrome is great for power users who love using various extensions.

[cookinghusband]

Seems like when I run crome on my MBP 17" the fan start spinning quicker then when I run safari and I un-installed it.

I use crome when I use windows 7

[boto]

Chrome auto updates all of your plugins and extensions for you. Why bother manually updating Flash or Java on Safari when you can just forget about it when using Chrome? Even if you set them both to auto update they don't actually download the new version unless you navigate to the system preference pane and select "update". Also, the sync feature is the best part about Chrome, whether your on a PC, Mac, or smartphone you can be sure all of your bookmarks, extensions, and information will all be available instantly. In addition, if you enable GPU compositing by inputting "chrome://flags" in your web bar and selecting the option, you will be dumbfounded how fluid everything is.

[NutsNGum]

Originally Posted by dba415

it's already installed so why install something else?

Said the Internet Explorer user in 1995.

[turtlez]

Originally Posted by NutsNGum

Said the Internet Explorer user in 1995.

haha nice one. I remember using macs with netscape and windows with IE at school back in that year and there was such a dramatic difference in experience. I would have only been about 8 or 9 at the time and even then I could tell which was better.

[NMF]

I click a lot of new linkes to be opened in new tabs. Safari hates that and always seems to crash. I hate dealing with that.

It sucks because I love intelligent zoom and the built-in Reader functionality. I now use Chrome and Evernote Clearly, but ugh, I miss intelligent zoom.

[LPZ]

I prefer Chrome.

One thing to know is that Chrome is not yet available as a 64-bit application. So, in particular, it cannot be used with any of the Java 7 plugins provided by Oracle, as they are only available as 64-bit executables.

For me this is not an important issue.

[jaduff46]

This got me recently connecting to work via GoToMyPC. I had updated the Java runtime (64 bit). I went the route of installing Firefox (which was my default PC browser). I use Safari for everything else.

[turtlez]

tried out the latest chrome a couple of hours ago and also Mozilla Aurora. Back to safari again FF/Aurora is just too much of a heavyweight. Chrome is light weight as well as safari. I prefer the UI in Safari and the scrolling is slightly smoother + bonus points for being more integrated and designed for os x than chrome.

[Vairamuthu]

Safari experience is the BEST in mac . Page navigation and browsing will be so smooth in safari .

[colshine]

Originally Posted by rrm998

As a new Mac user, I started with Safari under ML for the Retina support. But I missed the ability to "two finger tap" on a bookmark to open a menu in Chrome or Firefox. I use this open the bookmark in a new tab. As far as I could tell, the only way to do this in Safari is Command click. This means I need two hands to surf the web.

You can use BetterTouchTool to create/modify gestures. I've configured global as well as per application gestures which is very handy.

As for browser choice I prefer Safari but also have Chrome and Firefox installed as for some things I prefer the other browsers. These days all three browsers are pretty good in the end it comes down to personal choice.

[szw-mapple fan]

Originally Posted by SuperJudge

Yes. I went from Firefox to Chrome because Chrome offers a better native OS X experience.

I used to use Chrome on a PC but ever since switching to a mac I've been using safari because to pinch to zoom/page forward and backwards is so smooth and seamless. Also safari is a bit faster loading pages than chrome on my mac.

[Hail Caesar]

I prefer Safari. It works the best.