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Google Chrome bad, Safari also bad

S

Sarah_Baker

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 4, 2023
32
23
I have a problem guys. I have been using Google Chrome for the past couple of years. Recently though, it started to drain my battery so fast to the point my MBP M1 was just unusable without plugged in. It would even heat up which I have never experienced.

Well since a week I have been using Safari. It has no issues whatsoever with battery or memory. It does however have the problem of not having any good extensions that I need for my day to day use ( I am a front-end dev ). The other thing is the interface for developer tab is just not what I am used to.

So I'm asking you guys, is there some sort of a middle ground. Is there like a browser or solution that will get the best of both worlds? I read somewhere here about some guy switching to Orion, but I have not gone to test it out.
 
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I would try reinstalling Chrome if possible. Chrome shouldn't be heating up an M1 MBP. Delete Chrome, delete (or rename) the preference folder, delete the preference file, and redownload it.
 
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I'm not happy with ad blocking extensions for Safari. What are you using ?
 
JustAnExpat said:
I would try reinstalling Chrome if possible. Chrome shouldn't be heating up an M1 MBP. Delete Chrome, delete (or rename) the preference folder, delete the preference file, and redownload it.
Click to expand...
I tried that, cleaning just about any bit left from chrome and reinstalling it again. Nothing. That's why I switched to Safari.
 
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Sarah_Baker said:
Have you had any experience with any of them?
Click to expand...
As I am "just" a user not sure my experience is relevant. That said, I have used both Firefox, and Edge. Firefox years ago, but ended up switching back to Safari. I still use Edge as Safari is not compatible with one of the sites I use for secure document transfers. I use the extension for DuckDuckGo in Safari and have not yet tried their browser.
 
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chrome is known to suck because they did it on purpose (I deleted it, won't touch it again), latest builds are supposed to be better and reduce the excessive battery and memory usage and offer better security, but I don't trust google at all, so I'm skeptical. I use safari technology preview with no issues whatsoever, but I do not use any extensions. Brave is considered a good choice, I also have no issues with brave, they are supposed to support extensions, but I don't use em.
 
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I had similar issues with chrome (loud fans, hot laptop, extreme memory usage) and switched to Safari.

I’m not in the same field so I can’t say if there are any useful extensions for you, but I also use Firefox (on my work Windows machine) now and it’s great for my purposes (mainly mail, Jira, confluence, miro).
 
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I’m guessing the big things you need are extensions for React or Angular or something like that? If there’s not an official extension, you might be able to find some unofficial ones. Alternatively, use Chrome just for development tasks, Safari for other browsing.
 
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Sarah_Baker said:
I have a problem guys. I have been using Google Chrome for the past couple of years. Recently though, it started to drain my battery so fast to the point my MBP M1 was just unusable without plugged in. It would even heat up which I have never experienced.

Well since a week I have been using Safari. It has no issues whatsoever with battery or memory. It does however have the problem of not having any good extensions that I need for my day to day use ( I am a front-end dev ). The other thing is the interface for developer tab is just not what I am used to.

So I'm asking you guys, is there some sort of a middle ground. Is there like a browser or solution that will get the best of both worlds? I read somewhere here about some guy switching to Orion, but I have not gone to test it out.
Click to expand...
I have used the Arc browser for the last bunch of months. It runs on Chromium and seems to combine the best of Chrome/Safari; that is, access to Chrome extensions/Google ecosystem while keeping the load light on battery/memory like Safari. Put simply, it's the best browser experience I've ever had.

Link here if interested: https://arc.net/.
 
aespana said:
You can try using AppCleaner to unistall Chrome. And then reinstall it

I recommend you Wirp as adblock in Safari.
Click to expand...
Second this for Wipr. I use Edge instead of Chrome. Fine tune some settings will make the Edge lighter.

I also use Safari 16.6 (and Ventura) instead of Safari 17. I prefer to be conservative for better stability.
 
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Sarah_Baker said:
I have a problem guys. I have been using Google Chrome for the past couple of years. Recently though, it started to drain my battery so fast to the point my MBP M1 was just unusable without plugged in. It would even heat up which I have never experienced.
Click to expand...
Uninstall Chrome using AppCleaner https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
then install using the dmg of pkg from https://chromeenterprise.google/browser/download/#mac-tab
Sarah_Baker said:
Well since a week I have been using Safari. It has no issues whatsoever with battery or memory. It does however have the problem of not having any good extensions that I need for my day to day use ( I am a front-end dev )
Click to expand...
What extensions do you use in Chrome and are not available in Safari?

JustAnExpat said:
For me? I edited the HOST file directly. See https://kinsta.com/knowledgebase/edit-mac-hosts-file/
Click to expand...
I made this for Catalina, it should still work in newer versions of macOS
Using hosts to block ads and malware https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/using-hosts-to-block-ads-and-malware-in-catalina.2198978/
https://gist.github.com/b0gdanw/2716bc05be8eef49424b105d39370105
 
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Sarah_Baker said:
I have been using Google Chrome for the past couple of years. Recently though, it started to drain my battery so fast to the point my MBP M1 was just unusable without plugged in.
Click to expand...
Have you activated Battery Saver in Settings > Performance?

Edit: I haven't received an answer to this question. A bit weird.
 
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I alternate between Firefox and Safari, Firefox for the add-on support and rich features (it was the preferred third-party browser back in the day before Chrome came around) and Safari for native integration.

Firefox has fared really well on my MBP with M1Pro.
 
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Jay Tee said:
I'm not happy with ad blocking extensions for Safari. What are you using ?
Click to expand...
What extensions did you try? Personally I am very happy with AdGuard o both iPhone and Mac. For apps on the phone I use Lockdown on demand.
 
Safari for web dev is completely useless. I don't like Chrome, but sadly we have to put up with it, since Apple considers Safari in it's current state "the best they can do" 🤷🏼‍♂️.

PS: Not that I hate Adguard, but the need to have a separate app running in the background for a basic functionality like ad blocking is not good in my book.

PS2: Most, if not all, payable ad blockers don't work 100% like they claim to (they either don't block youtube vids, or some sites, or both). In addition to that, they tend to break yearly when new OS updates are released. Most fix them, but really, the experience is nowhere near of a "payable" app. (This includes Wipr as well which is relatively "cheap"). You will get a much better & free ad blocking experience on every other browser sadly.
 
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