Apple's new 'Switch to Safari' campaign details why you should ditch Chrome
26 points by ivell 2 hours ago | 25 comments

TheDong 3 minutes ago
First let us install other browser engines on iOS, and then we can talk.

Safari has the most obscene monopoly of any browser ever. IE 6 came pre-installed on windows machines, but you could always install Mosaic or such.

Google Chromebooks come with Chrome as the only default browser, but you can still run Firefox on Chromebooks just fine (even in two different ways, the supported android app version, and the semi-supported linux terminal + launching firefox that way).

Heck, iOS's monopolistic behavior is so bad that multiple regions (the EU + Japan) have already ruled against their behavior, though in reality Apple has complied in a way that makes it impossible to actually make a second browser engine for iOS still (going against the spirit of the law, but the courts haven't caught up to them yet).

Safari is also an awful browser in that it requires someone to buy an expensive machine to see if their site works on it.

I can run a windows trial copy in a VM to see if my site works in IE, I can run Chrome or Firefox on linux to verify if my site works in them. I can install a free android emulator on any common OS to see that my site renders right in those.

But Apple doesn't give me a legal way to freely run an iOS simulator nor even a macOS VM on my linux machine, I have to pay money, to buy their hardware to see if my site will work on Safari.

And even worse, Safari is the browser with the largest number of rendering bugs and quirks currently, while also having a huge number of users (since iOS users can't install another browser), so any web developers are basically forced to shell out for apple hardware.

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curt15 2 minutes ago
Safari has the same manifest v3 limitations that preclude the full-blooded ublock origin you get with Firefox.
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jacquesm 26 minutes ago
You should ditch Chrome. And switch to FireFox.
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barelysapient 13 minutes ago
I've been very happy with FireFox.
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baal80spam 16 minutes ago
Nope.
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jonhohle 4 minutes ago
I’ve been using Safari since 2003. I was previously using Konqueror, so the transition was pretty easy. It’s always been fast and reliable and Mac-like. It’s nice to have a browser that is a browser and not something that’s attempting to be another operating system.
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PrimalPower 16 minutes ago
I was building an pdf export feature for one of my projects the other day.

And safari still behaves differently than my other browsers.

I usually try to give safari a chance whenever I’m working on Macs. I’m always forced to install chrome for some reason or another.

Until the random compatibility quirks stop I don’t see myself returning to safari.

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nitin7 4 minutes ago
They should increase extension support and improve dev tools! And for UI, they can really take a leaf out of BCNY - Arc browser was good.
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freakynit 8 minutes ago
No thanks. We have seen multiple times now how it all starts with "good" stuff, then it gets more and more and more locked-down... to the point where you cannot even install apps on your own device, from wherever you want to.

No thanks.. I'd rather switch to Firefox, or even any other shitty browser, but not the one from any other gatekeeping monopoly.

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hollowonepl 5 minutes ago
I ditched both to favor Firefox many many years ago.
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emehex 9 minutes ago
I would... if it <proper> had vertical tabs
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nitin7 6 minutes ago
Yeah. I'm typing this on my safari which shows both vertical tabs and the horizontal tabs - looks so weird. And I always end up clicking a tab and then typing away, and Safari starts switching me to tabs starting with whatever letter I type - very annoying.
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estetlinus 5 minutes ago
This is the only thing that matters, why does nobody get it right?
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SirMaster 21 minutes ago
Could they please make Safari for Windows again?
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samdixon 18 minutes ago
Needs ublock and I would use it
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theplumber 17 minutes ago
Apple forgot to mention Safari not being open source but rather tied to a proprietary platform not to mention Safari on mobile kept in a short leash to protect the AppStore.
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pipolo 9 minutes ago
Safari's performance (both speed and power use) keep me on it vs. Chrome, but I do wish we could have some of the more power-user-friendly features. Chrome's omnibar history and bookmark suggestion algorithm is unparalleled, and I miss it.
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glimshe 23 minutes ago
If Safari worked in all major OSs like Chrome, Brave and Firefox, I could consider that. I own a Mac but didn't switch to Safari because I use multiple OSs for my work.
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SirMaster 20 minutes ago
It even used to run on Windows...
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ivell 2 hours ago
Reminds me of PC vs Mac campaign
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InfiniteQwert 25 minutes ago
give me Split Tabs outside of Fullscreen you cowards. That's what is holding me back (and Safari occasionally losing all my tabs when I restart it)
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bossyTeacher 24 minutes ago
Given the state of affairs, anything and anyone pulling people away from Chrome is a good as long as they not more invasive than Chrome. 1 big bad actor is worse than multiple smaller bad actors imo.
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unified101 33 minutes ago
Bullshit.

First stop blocking iOS pwas from simply installing to the home screen, and don't clear out data in 7 days. Then we'll talk about your browser being better.

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sdellis 5 minutes ago
100% this. And in case you missed the Scooby Doo episode... Chrome on mobile iOS is just Safari in a ski mask!
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mmmlinux 3 minutes ago
Most other browsers on the market are just chrome in a ski mask. So what's your point?
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