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Are there any compelling reasons to use Safari instead of Chrome?

Berthacrowley

Berthacrowley

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 29, 2015
97
46
Nahant, MA
I searched the forums first but most of the threads relating to Safari vs Chrome are in relation to OS X.

I'm wondering if there are any really good reasons to use Safari over Chrome on iOS other than personal preference?

I've used Chrome forever because I used to use PCs exclusively and it was obviously far better than IE. When I switched to Mac, I stayed with Chrome over Safari because I was used to it, so when I got my first iPhone (4), same thing. I only use Safari when I click on a link in twitter or my email or something and it launches automatically.

With the new allowance for ad-blockers in iOS 9, I got excited but then realized that they only seemed to be available for Safari, which is why I'm wondering if I should switch. I do a LOT of browsing on my phone so I plan to try using Safari exclusively for a few days to see if I like it but I'm wondering if there are any measurable reasons for using it as well? Like is it faster? Does it use less battery? Or is it purely a matter of personal preference (and/or whether you believe Google is the devil :p)?
 
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It's the native browser and for all its faults it offers the best browsing experience on an iOS device. Chrome on an Android phone or tablet is the way to go, not that you could use Safari anyway, but the Chrome app isn't a patch on the Android version. The best non-Safari browser for iOS is Opera Coast in my book.
 
I still use chrome on a windows machine that I have to have for a couple of jobs but I always use Safari on :apple: devices for bookmark and password syncing. It also makes sense to use it to prevent adding an additional browser.
 
I hate Safari and Webkit. On any platform. I hate it.

OP, I use Dolphin. It's the most like Firefox, which is my browser of choice on Intel Macs and TenFourFox which is my browser of choice on all my PowerPC Macs.

Dolphin is light, fast and has great features. The biggest one for me is the quick launcher. It also has the advantage of not reloading web pages when you leave it and come back.
 
bembol said:
I prefer Safari because Swipe, easier on Battery and iCloud.
Click to expand...

Chrome has swipe now and it's doubtful that any iOS browser consumes more battery than Safari. It has matured into an ok app now, but Safari is integrated into the o/s so why bother.
 
I just never felt the need to look for an alternate browser. I also don't use chrome on pc. Safari does what I need it to do and I tried other browsers before, extra features I never used and I didn't like that I had to change the way I browse to adapt to them. iCloud sharing is nice since I have a Macbook. Especially now with content blockers I am content with Safari.

Oh and the fact you can't change default browser is one of the reasons. Whenever I click on a link on an app or a text I am taken to Safari instead of the browser I want to use. I had to always copy out the link and paste it onto the other browser. I eventually got sick of that.
 
This is the best version of Safari thus far. However I don't store my bookmarks in the browser. Even better for my usage is Chrome on all my devices and desktops OS X, Win 10, Linux.

Google has such a vast array of highly useful extensions that even though Apple purposely makes it impossible for any browser other than Safari to be fast and truly competitive on iOS, that doesn't offset the true benefits of Chrome. Those worried about privacy are uninformed about security anyway.

The Big Data industry alone already has delivered your info to the government anyway. Denial is rampant and most don't want to know the truth. It's more pleasant for them to carry the fantasy that Apple has their back.
 
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sunking101 said:
It's the native browser and for all its faults it offers the best browsing experience on an iOS device. Chrome on an Android phone or tablet is the way to go, not that you could use Safari anyway, but the Chrome app isn't a patch on the Android version. The best non-Safari browser for iOS is Opera Coast in my book.
Click to expand...

I forgot about Coast. It's beautiful, but I stopped using it about a year ago when ads were becoming too awful and I switched to Mercury, because of ad blocking. But now that Mercury was bought and destroyed by "someone" I haven't settled on a good browser again yet. iCab mobile is OK, but still a bit kludgy.

Did Opera Coast implement ad-blocking yet?
 
Aston441 said:
I forgot about Coast. It's beautiful, but I stopped using it about a year ago when ads were becoming too awful and I switched to Mercury, because of ad blocking. But now that Mercury was bought and destroyed by "someone" I haven't settled on a good browser again yet. iCab mobile is OK, but still a bit kludgy.

Did Opera Coast implement ad-blocking yet?
Click to expand...

I don't think they have but the browser is rock-solid now. I only use it for certain things because Safari is good again now, but I used Coast a heck of a lot in iOS7.
 
Isn't Safari still essentially the main browser that gets to use the faster JavaScript engine that's in iOS while the other browsers don't get access to that (unless the switched to the recent newer web view that iOS offers, which as I recall most of them didn't). Perry much the same goes for the content blocker ability that was introduced in iOS 9.
 
Using any other browser isn't feasible until Apple allow you to change the default browser.

Everytime you click a link in an app it will take you to Safari. I don't want to have to manage this.

When Apple changes this, I'll look at other browsers.
 
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I've tried many browser apps on Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry OS and iOS. But Safari in combination with iOS is the fastest, best looking, most pleasant to use, and most intuitive browser I've ever used.
 
"Any reason to use Safari over Chrome" is backwards. The question ought to be, "Any reason to use Chrome over Safari?"

1. I don't trust Google. Period.
2. Safari is native and has better integration across all of my devices with passwords, history, bookmarks, tabs, etc.
3. Ad blocking
4. Safari is just...snappier.
 
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Berthacrowley said:
I searched the forums first but most of the threads relating to Safari vs Chrome are in relation to OS X.

I'm wondering if there are any really good reasons to use Safari over Chrome on iOS other than personal preference?

I've used Chrome forever because I used to use PCs exclusively and it was obviously far better than IE. When I switched to Mac, I stayed with Chrome over Safari because I was used to it, so when I got my first iPhone (4), same thing. I only use Safari when I click on a link in twitter or my email or something and it launches automatically.

With the new allowance for ad-blockers in iOS 9, I got excited but then realized that they only seemed to be available for Safari, which is why I'm wondering if I should switch. I do a LOT of browsing on my phone so I plan to try using Safari exclusively for a few days to see if I like it but I'm wondering if there are any measurable reasons for using it as well? Like is it faster? Does it use less battery? Or is it purely a matter of personal preference (and/or whether you believe Google is the devil :p)?
Click to expand...
By the way, why not just try Safari for a week and see for yourself? What's the big hullabaloo?
 
Thanks for all the great information and opinions! It seems like the vast majority prefer Safari (to be expected here, maybe?) so I'm going to give it a try starting now.
 
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A lot of people seems to have the misconception that chrome is the best browser. That might be true on Windows, definitely not true on iOS or OS X
 
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