Seems like Orion browser is making good progress

[VitoBotta]

I have tried it several times since I first heard of it, but each time I ran into issues, some quite basic, that forced me to get rid of it. I started using it again today and I even subscribed to Orion+ just to try the RC version, which I guess should be better than the public beta (?).

It seems much more solid now than last time I tried it. Pretty fast, the extensions I use work well, and I only ran into one website (Umami Cloud - Analytics) that didn't work properly out of the box but works fine with the compatibilty mode enabled.

Who else is using? Are you using it as you main browser yet?

 

[VitoBotta]

Every time I tried it before, I encountered several bugs, but I'm giving it another chance now. Is anyone using it as a daily driver?

 

[T0m0]

Before installing the macOS 26 beta, I used Orion as my main browser for a few months. It worked fine overall, though I only had two extensions installed. There were a few minor issues and rough edges, but I haven't seen any crashes in a long time.

 

[bogdanw]

As Safari was no longer receiving updates on Monterey, I began using Orion as my main browser at the end of last year. Now I use it on a new Mac with Sequoia 15.5.

In December I reported a bug, and it’s still marked as “Planned” to be fixed.
History database is not cleared https://orionfeedback.org/d/9178-history-database-is-not-cleared
I made an AppleScript, saved as an app, so that I can be sure history and cache are cleared when I want.

I haven’t experienced any crashes and Orion works well most of the time. I haven’t installed extensions, I use the included content filters. I reported another bug about those
Custom filter deleted after browser restart https://orionfeedback.org/d/11032-bug-custom-filter-deleted-after-browser-restart

There is another bug that is really annoying, sometimes copy-paste stops working. I don’t know at the moment if it’s my configuration to blame, with some local html files opened in Orion, or if it’s something else.

 

[VitoBotta]

Besides the support for Chrome and Firefox extensions, what are some reasons why you prefer Orion to Safari for example?

 

[VitoBotta]

Right when I was about to make it my default browser, I encountered issues with my microphone once again. Orion didn't even detect my Blue Yeti Mini before. Now it does, but for some reason, the audio quality is significantly lower compared to when I use the microphone with Chrome browsers, for instance. Back to Vivaldi...

 

[Fishrrman]

vito asks:
"what are some reasons why you prefer Orion to Safari for example?"

OK, here's a good example.

Several versions of the OS back, Safari had an "easy-to-reach" menu choice to "Disable JavaScript". I set it up with a specialized keyboard shortcut ("Command-J") so that I could toggle JS off/on when needed (then reload the page).

But Apple has taken that feature OUT of the Develop menu and buried it into the Safari settings. Can't be reached with a keyboard shortcut any more.

But Orion has KEPT the Disable JavaScript choice in their Developer menu.
Still works (just tried it as I composed this reply).

WHY "disable" JavaScript?
Because... if you visit a web page that just tries to unload popups, videos and other garbage "at you", TURNING OFF JavaScript will often get rid of this stuff instantly.
What you're left with is the "core text" of the page, so you can read the article you probably wanted to (only) see in the first place.

When done, just toggle on JavaScript again after you leave that page.

 

[bogdanw]

I switched from Safari to Orion because I was tired of Safari’s bloatware.

I’m not signed into iCloud, I never used bookmarks sync, but Safari is always starting SafariBookmarksSyncAgent. Same with History (com.apple.Safari.History) and notifications (SafariNotificationAgent).

I have location turned off in System Settings and in Safari, but Safari keeps starting the location service com.apple.geod and generates data (~/Library/Containers/com.apple.geod).

One other downside of using Orion in page translation. It’s not done on the same page. It opens a new tab/window to translate.kagi.com/translate/PageToTranslate.

And another one is that Orion does not support other characters in the address bar.
For example, https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/中國 in Safari turns into zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8Bin Orion.