The best browser for Linux, Windows, and Mac isn’t Google Chrome

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Jack Wallen has finally opted for a single web browser as the default on all platforms. Find out what browser it is and why it made the switch.

Image: RobertAx, Getty Images / iStockphoto

A couple of months ago, I finally left Opera as the default browser on Linux. It was a tough sell because the Opera Workspaces feature was something I didn’t think I could leave behind. Still, the load the browser placed on my machine (especially when using Google Docs) was too big a problem to ignore. I was working, minding my own business, when suddenly Opera would freeze the desktop.

Productivity, your name is memory loss!

At that point, I was using two different browsers as the default settings, on Linux and macOS, and I was certain that Safari would remain the go-to for the Mac. But then I kept using that default browser on Linux and, day in and day out, I was more and more impressed with its performance and simplicity. And then things took a turn for the worse on Safari. As with Opera, when working with a longer document in Google Docs, Safari would show a warning that the site was using too much memory. No matter what I did with Safari, that behavior wouldn’t stop.

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Finally, two days ago, I moved away from Safari to make the same browser I used on Linux as the default on macOS. This was a choice I didn’t regret for a second.

This is not to say that I found myself using only one browser. Oh no. If it were that simple. You see, there are still sites I have to use that, for whatever reason, were designed with Chrome in mind. And this is a problem. Why? Why Chrome has become unreliable on so many levels. On Linux, Chrome has blocked the desktop on too many occasions. On macOS, Chrome drains the battery faster than any other application (except Final Cut Pro when rendering videos).

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This problem is complicated. Why? First, the browser is a tool used by everyone. Regardless of your platform, you depend on a web browser. I’d say 90% of the work and entertainment you undertake on any computing device is done via a web browser. This means that those ubiquitous applications have to carry a huge load. For the most part, they all do it pretty well. Every web browser I’ve ever used renders sites well (although some better than others). So, what is the problem? Why would anyone have trouble selecting the browser that is truly best for their use case or migrating completely to a different browser?

In one word: familiarity.

We all have our own workflow. Many of us have adapted our workflow to the way a specific web browser does things. To tell the truth, on the surface, the differences are not that great. Each browser offers many of the same standard features:

BookmarksTabsCookiesSaved dataMenuAdd-onsConfiguration optionsPrivacy features

The biggest difference is how each browser implements these features. It’s on the surface … where the users live. It’s when you dig a little deeper than you find that those browsers start to differ. Take, for example, the fact that there are five active web browser rendering engines:

WebKit SafariBlinkBrowsers based on Chrome and Chromium (such as Microsoft Edge, Opera, Brave and Vivaldi) GeckoFirefoxGoannaPale Moon and BasiliskFlowFlow browser

Of all the browsers I’ve used, those based on the WebKit and Blink render engines seem to have the biggest problems with longer documents on Google Drive. And for me, this is a big deal. I work on Google Drive seven to nine hours a day. And the fact that the Blink rendering engine has the biggest problem with Google Drive should come as a shock, as both were created (and are maintained) by Google.

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But since my switch to Firefox (on Linux and macOS), I haven’t had a single problem with memory issues. And, to my surprise, Firefox is no longer a battery vampire on macOS. Prior to my MacBook Pro M1, Firefox exhausted the will to live from my 2016 MacBook Pro battery. When I used Firefox, I was lucky to have two or three hours of battery life. With M1 and Firefox 89, battery life is just as good as when using Safari.

Outside of performance, rendering, and battery life, I love what Mozilla has done to the Firefox interface. The clutter and swelling are gone. Now, Firefox is a sleek (almost minimalist) browser that outperforms every browser on my desktop and laptop. I’ve even migrated my default Android to Firefox and found it’s just as impressive a mobile browser as it is on the desktop.

The only snag to my overall plan is the fact that (as I said earlier) there are still sites that don’t work well with any browser other than Chrome. This is astounding. Whenever I see a website refusing to work in a particular browser, I immediately assume Doc Brown has come to DeLorean and has his eye on 2001. But this isn’t the beginning of the 2000s, nor is it the old browser wars. . Even so, the environment looks ripe for a headlong battle between Firefox and Chrome. And while Chrome has a huge market share advantage (Chrome currently has a 67% market share of the competition), the current state of performance doesn’t reflect that popularity.

If I had to guess, I’d say Google is just lucky that the average user doesn’t like change or doesn’t even realize there are alternatives available. If you fall into that category, I highly recommend that you install Firefox and see if you find yourself setting it as the default on all your devices and platforms.

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