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How come not a single browser even comes close to Safari's scrolling performance?

S

SmOgER

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 2, 2014
820
99
Okayyy.. So my Safari for some reason started acting up lately so I decided to give a more serious shot to other browsers. Not that I haven't tried them before, but usually I use non-Safari browser on OS X only when I need something very specific with limited compatibility or when I'am testing web layout.
Anyways, back to the point. It didn't take long for me to realize that scrolling performance on them is just plain garbage. Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, Maxthon, you name it.. They all appear as stuttering mess when you are used to Safari's smooth scrolling.
So is it a matter of Apple not giving the needed access for 3rd party devs to certain OS optimization components or are those devs are just not competent enough for lack of a better word? I'am genuinely curious.
 
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OS X aggressively pre-draws invisible parts of scrollable areas when the system is idle(r), so that you can get that smooth scrolling feeling. Safari might use some other optimisations still. It is possible that the other browsers are using their own scrolling implementation, which is less aggressive.
 
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SmOgER said:
Okayyy.. So my Safari for some reason started acting up lately so I decided to give a more serious shot to other browsers. Not that I haven't tried them before, but usually I use non-Safari browser on OS X only when I need something very specific with limited compatibility or when I'am testing web layout.
Anyways, back to the point. It didn't take long for me to realize that scrolling performance on them is just plain garbage. Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Vivaldi, Maxthon, you name it.. They all appear as stuttering mess when you are used to Safari's smooth scrolling.
So is it a matter of Apple not giving the needed access for 3rd party devs to certain OS optimization components or are those devs are just not competent enough for lack of a better word? I'am genuinely curious.
Click to expand...

I use Safari, but I have Chrome for the built-in flash and for reverse image lookups in Google Images. All other web browsers, Chrome included－its two features listed notwithstanding－feel archaic in comparison.
 
SmOgER said:
So is it a matter of Apple not giving the needed access for 3rd party devs to certain OS optimization components or are those devs are just not competent enough for lack of a better word? I'am genuinely curious.
Click to expand...

Apple: they make the hardware, the operating system and the browser, they have enormous resources and they are obsessed about graphical smoothness.

It... helps :)

I can't comment re: undocumented calls (and those who can comment have probably signed an NDA), but I wouldn't rule that out.

I wouldn't rule out WebKit being patched with Mac-specific optimizations either, not having to worry about a dozen platform helps.
 
hatuko said:
Uhm I don't see much difference between safari and chrome to be honest...
Click to expand...

Neither do I. I'd also say Firefox is scrolling just as smoothly. Since being able to read text is somewhat important, I much prefer Firefox. Not being able to change the text size without zooming the whole page is a deal breaker. Moreover, I like uniformity across platforms and Safari sucks on Windows and isn't available for Linux. Centering the URL box, the bookmarks, and not having a separate search box are also negatives. They've dumbed down the interface IMHO.
 
sibcc said:
Neither do I. I'd also say Firefox is scrolling just as smoothly. Since being able to read text is somewhat important, I much prefer Firefox. Not being able to change the text size without zooming the whole page is a deal breaker. Moreover, I like uniformity across platforms and Safari sucks on Windows and isn't available for Linux. Centering the URL box, the bookmarks, and not having a separate search box are also negatives. They've dumbed down the interface IMHO.
Click to expand...
Don't you use AllPagesZoom? Initially the zoom was limited to something like 10% precision so that extension was far from perfect, but after I modded it and uploaded to one of mac support forums the developer realized this and removed the steps altogether hah. Now it's 1% precision. :)

And why would you ever need a separate search box if you can search straight from the address bar?
 
SmOgER said:
Don't you use AllPagesZoom? Initially the zoom was limited to something like 10% precision so that extension was far from perfect, but after I modded it and uploaded to one of mac support forums the developer realized this and removed the steps altogether hah. Now it's 1% precision. :)
Click to expand...

Yes, I use AllPagesZoom; however, that zooms the whole page and not just the text.

And why would you ever need a separate search box if you can search straight from the address bar?
Click to expand...

Because I want the text I'm searching for to remain when I open a new tab and not disappear when the url bar indicates the current page. Further, I may choose to search using different search engines in those different tabs. I can see the need to maximize available screen space on a laptop or iPad, but not on large screen monitors. For me, the drop down for previous searches isn't good enough because it requires a step to make it visible; thus, less information is displayed than if it were visible in a separate search box.
 
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Apple goes to great lengths to give themselves advantages against the competition, all to insure they look superior. That's nothing new. They worked hard to become the 800 lb. Gorilla :D
 
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