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

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

This is not specific to Safari, but Mavericks introduced "Responsive Scrolling," which is thoroughly documented here: http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/19/#responsive-scrolling

 

Uhm I don't see much difference between safari and chrome to be honest...

 

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.

 

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

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.

 

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