Google Chrome
A better way to browse if you’re not monogamous with Apple
Which web browser is best for you comes down to the type of person you are, to some extent. Safari’s a solid choice on the Mac – broadly dependable and well-integrated into the operating system. Also, if you’re wedded to the Apple ecosystem, there’s sense in sticking with it to share tabs and data across your Macs and iOS devices through iCloud.
However, not everyone has such a straightforward setup. Perhaps you also use an Android device, a Google Chromebook, or a Windows PC, in which case Chrome ( google.com/chrome) is a smart choice for your Mac, because it affords you a continuity of experience and data on which you’d otherwise miss out completely.
If you don’t care at all about Google services, there are still two very good reasons to consider Chrome. Historically it has been far superior to Safari when it comes to implementing cutting-edge web standards, meaning it’s more likely to work with emerging technologies, such as advanced web games. In our experience, Safari works reasonably well with many such titles, but if something doesn’t work, chances are it’ll be just fine in Chrome – at which point you might well end up wondering if you should just use it full-time.
The other motivation to use Chrome is extensibility. Safari provides support for extensions, but the sheer range of them for Google’s browser dwarfs what’s available for Apple’s. In part, this is due to Google’s attempts to make Chrome a viable platform in and of itself. Regardless, a quick visit to the Chrome Web Store reveals all kinds of extensions for working with popular web services, blogging, communicating with friends, downloading content, and tailoring the browser. Managing Chrome extensions is simple, and in many cases you can choose whether they work in the Incognito private browsing mode.
Extra spit and polish
There are smaller touches in Chrome that make it pleasant to use. It has long enabled you to mute a noisy tab quickly – something Safari only recently caught up with. It also has options to duplicate a tab or reload it in the background – useful when you’re shopping or you want to keep several pages current, for example.
There is one downside to Chrome that’s worth noting, though, which is its tendency to be pretty resource-hungry. Quite often on MacBooks, you’ll find Chrome lurking in the “Apps Using Significant Energy” naughty list when you click on the battery icon in the menu bar. However, quite how much Chrome will drain your battery will be down to your particular usage. So, if you yearn for a browser that’s more extensible than Safari, and that’s well-integrated into Google’s services, at least give Chrome a go – just keep an eye on your Mac’s battery usage if you do!