So Which Is The Best Browser For Your Mac?

With all the chrome bashing that's been going on of late, It got me wondering and a bit jealous cause I was missing out on the aforementioned Chrome bashing. Does it really matter what browser you use? I mean they all fundamentally do the same thing, It turns all the ones and zeros of the internet into things that you can actually read on your screen. But as is turns out a whole lot of things have to happen for your favourite website to be displayed to you, In the shady back alleys of code that our browsers run on, It turns out that each browser does things a little bit differently.

So what are our options? The Three main browsers that we'll be taking a look at today will be Safari, Firefox and Chrome. 

Safari

Safari is the browser that comes with your iPhone or iPad or your Mac as we are discussing in this case. It's a fast fluid responsive modern browser. It's my browser on choice. Safari a few things going for it. First off it's a first party browser and so it comes straight from Apple and so, You can get all the ecosystem advantages that come with that. If you do own a few Apple devices your history, your bookmarks and your tabs will all sync between devices. Sure I've tried the same with Firefox and with chrome. But none was as seamless as safari. I've found myself waiting for tabs and history to sync while using other browsers. With Safari its right there when you need it. Safari is surprisingly light on resources that for the performance that it gives you. Another thing that Safari does really well is protect your privacy. It does it so well that you don't even realise that its happening. Every year Tim Cook takes the stage at WWDC or the September Keynote and he talks about how much Safari does to protect your privacy and to be honest we gloss over that every year because we never see it in action, Safari's strong stance on privacy is good for anyone that is concerned about how their data is harvested. 

So who is Safari for? Safari is for all the average joes out there, If you just need something that's good and just works Safari works for you.

For me Safari Scored a 64.3 on Speedometer 2.0

Firefox

Firefox used to be the king of the hill, After the fall of Internet explorer Firefox briefly became the worlds most popular browser before Google Chrome inevitably pulled the rug out from underneath Firefox. But people today still hold onto that old image of Firefox, A dated looking browser which is slower than the competition. But with the release of Firefox quantum the equation has changed. Firefox is now beautiful fast and elegant. The minimalist design aesthetic of Firefox puts both Safari and Google Chrome to shame. It's no slouch when it comes to performance either. The new Firefox is capable of going toe to toe with any browser out there, Yes including Chrome. This might not have been true two years ago but as of right now Firefox is an excellent replacement to Google Chrome. Firefox comes with the same commitment to privacy that Safari does. When compared to Safari Firefox does have a more robust library of extensions. If you're someone that likes extensions and uses them on a daily basis Firefox has you covered. if you're a web dev Firefox offers you really good dev tools and an especially good Console which is a big  plus if you're a web dev. Safari's development features are lacking to say the least 

So who is Firefox for? Firefox is for the privacy conscious of you that needs a good selection of extensions and development tools. If you have non Apple devices in your workflow Firefox is a great option as it gives you some of the syncing functionality that Safari gives you.

For me Safari Scored a 58.6 on Speedometer 2.0

Chrome

Now we get to the most popular browser of them all. Google Chrome. Chrome has had the browser space in it's palm for the better part of a decade and it doesn't seem to be easing up any time soon. Chrome alone accounts for about 62% of all browsers that are active as of right now. Chrome is one of the best browsers out there. Chrome is fast simple and a lot of Google websites just tend to work better on Chrome. Chrome is also one of the best browsers for web development and has one of the most elaborate extension libraries. If anyone makes a web extension it will be for Chrome and then everyone else. Chrome does give the user an enjoyable browsing experience and that's why it gained it's initial user base. But now 11 years later. Firefox has caught up in terms of functionality. But with Chrome you are opting into Google's web of tracking while other browsers are making it a part of their business to protect user's privacy most important privacy settings are buried deep in Chrome's settings menu.Chrome is a good browser but for anyone remotely concerned about privacy Google Chrome is a no go . It's gotten to the point that Google can even track you when you're in incognito mode. That's not good. Chrome is also known to be a resource hog, Gobbling up ram and processing power.Which is probably why it performs so well. Frankly in my opinion, The gap between Chrome and Firefox have shrunk so much that it doesn't make sense to stick to Chrome, Unless you use hangouts a lot. The performance gains given by Chrome are minuscule compared to Safari or Firefox. If you are worried about privacy and you don't want to give up the functionality of Chrome Brave offers you the best of both worlds, as Brave is also built on the same code base that Chrome is based on. 

So who is Chrome for? Chrome is great for you if you use Google services like Hangouts a lot. Chrome is good for you if you run demanding web apps and you don't mind it taking a hit on performance or battery life. Chrome is great for you if you don't care that much about privacy. 

For me Chrome Scored a 68.2 on Speedometer 2.0

I don't know if you could tell but this article might have been a little biased.Haha.