Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included in Mac OS X. It was first released as a public beta on January 7, 2003, and was included as the default browser in Mac OS X v10.3. A beta version for Microsoft Windows was released for the first time on June 11, 2007 with support for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Safari has also been run unofficially on Linux under Wine, but the GUI and graphics do not render properly.

In February 2009 the beta for Safari 4 was released. This release includes a complete visual redesign and multiple new features such as full page zoom, speculative loading, ACID 3 compliance, a new and improved JavaScript engine and Cover Flow for websites.

Safari 1
MSRP $0.00
Release date January, 2003
Brand Apple
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want it
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tag it
Pros & Cons21
Reviews22
Details
Buy It
Competitors5
Comments3
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Pros & Cons

ProSCORE
22 reviews
68
negative
mixed
positive
12 positive
3 mixed
7 negative

[i] How is the ProSCORE calculated?

show me!

Pros:
Do you agree?
Text boxes can be resized
+11agreedisagree

Very cool find interface
+9agreedisagree

Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
+8agreedisagree

Easy to read fonts
+7agreedisagree

doesnt crash as easily as IE
+6agreedisagree

improved UI in version 4
+6agreedisagree

Clean uncluttered user interface
+4agreedisagree

Much faster than IE or Firefox
+3agreedisagree

fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
+3agreedisagree

compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
+3agreedisagree

compatible with greasekit
+3agreedisagree

Passed Acid 3 Test 100% with Webkit
+3agreedisagree

Driving force behind HTML5
+2agreedisagree

It's design is great
+1agreedisagree

Cons:
Do you agree?
Firefox has better/more extensions
+17agreedisagree

Can't press "/" to bring up find
+4agreedisagree

No native Linux support
+3agreedisagree

Installs with nasty updater
0agreedisagree

Windows version looks like MacOS version what causes rendering problems
0agreedisagree

Not fully functional with all sites
-1agreedisagree

windows version is extremely vulnerable
-2agreedisagree


22 people added to this review by submitting or voting on pros and cons. Add your say!

Details

Originally the browsers layout drew many comparisons to Firefox, though lacking Firefox's modularity. As of Safari 4 however, the developers have gone for a more Google Chrome like appearance. Safari includes a built-in RSS reader, native Quicktime support, an integrated pop-up ad blocker and a Web Inspector - a DOM Inspector-like utility that lets users and developers browse the Document Object Model of a web page.

As of January 2009 the market share held by Safari is a respectable 8.29%.

Submit a link

This report was started November 21, 2007 at 6:47 pm by audioboxer217
with the last edit occurring October 7, 2009 at 8:16 am by Robb Lincoln
This page has been viewed 612 times, with 197 edits by 30 contributors.
See the full report history »

Buy It

Competitors

Safari is ranked 5th among it's competitors.  See the top picks in Internet Browsers »

Suggest a new competitor to add to the list of competing products.
If the product hasn't yet been added to ProductWiki, submitting it here will also start the product report.

Comments

1.  avatar exumer said:

Its a better alternative to Internet Explorer, but cannot beat the new version of Firefox.
May 15, 2008 12:58pm
2.  avatar shadowtech said:

With a few added plugins for the Mac version, it's everything I personally need in a browser.
Unfortunately the Windows version does not feature such plugin support, thus Firefox is still a better browser on that platform, in my opinion.
Feb 26, 2009 11:40am
3.  avatar Omar said:

ya, i have to say that Safari4 is a major step above Safari3. The speed is definitely there, and right now is comparable to Chrome which is nice. Plus it has the better "Awesome Bar" from Firefox, so that's a big plus. Personally, I like the built-in dev tools of the new Safari better than Chrome, however the functionality is still a step below Firebug.

Overall I have to say that I'm really liking the new trend with browsers emphasizing speed and cleanliness over bloated features. Chrome really shook everyone up and for that I do thank Google. With all this competition it'll be really interesting to see how things shape up over the year.
Feb 27, 2009 11:43am
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Reviews

Sort by: Most helpful  •  Newest  •  Most positive

fractalhorizon

avatar
June 13, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
87
negative
mixed
positive
13 pros
2 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
  • compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
  • compatible with greasekit
  • Passed Acid 3 Test 100% with Webkit
  • Driving force behind HTML5

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • No native Linux support

Competitors

fractalhorizon prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Opera, Mozilla Firefox
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Robb Lincoln

avatar
September 22, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
10 pros
2 cons

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
  • Passed Acid 3 Test 100% with Webkit

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • No native Linux support

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

shadowtech

avatar
February 27, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
10 pros
2 cons
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)
  • compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
  • compatible with greasekit

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Comments

"With a few added plugins for the Mac version, it's everything I personally need in a browser.
Unfortunately the Windows version does not feature such plugin support, thus Firefox is still a better browser on that platform, in my opinion."
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Omar

avatar
February 27, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
80
negative
mixed
positive
8 pros
2 cons

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • Easy to read fonts
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Comments

"ya, i have to say that Safari4 is a major step above Safari3. The speed is definitely there, and right now is comparable to Chrome which is nice. Plus it has the better "Awesome Bar" from Firefox, so that's a big plus. Personally, I like the built-in dev tools of the new Safari better than Chrome, however the functionality is still a step below Firebug.

Overall I have to say that I'm really liking the new trend with browsers emphasizing speed and cleanliness over bloated features. Chrome really shook everyone up and for that I do thank Google. With all this competition it'll be really interesting to see how things shape up over the year."

Competitors

Omar prefers Google Chrome, Windows Internet Explorer over Safari
Omar prefers Safari over Mozilla Firefox, Opera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

dialupinternetuser

avatar
February 26, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
50
negative
mixed
positive
4 pros
4 cons
have ithave it

Pros

  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • improved UI in version 4
  • compatible with SMBL/Input Manager plugins
  • compatible with greasekit

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find
  • No native Linux support
  • Not fully functional with all sites

Competitors

dialupinternetuser prefers Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome over Safari
dialupinternetuser prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Opera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Yale

avatar
February 25, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
83
negative
mixed
positive
5 pros
1 con

Pros

  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • improved UI in version 4
  • Clean uncluttered user interface
  • Much faster than IE or Firefox
  • fastest JavaScript engine of any browser (version 4)

Cons

  • No native Linux support

Competitors

Yale prefers Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome over Safari
Yale prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

lonehunter

avatar
January 4, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
80
negative
mixed
positive
4 pros
1 con

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Easy to read fonts
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions

Competitors

lonehunter prefers Mozilla Firefox over Safari
lonehunter prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Opera, Google Chrome
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

kayleech

avatar
April 3, 2008
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
60
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
2 cons
love itlove it
have ithave it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Easy to read fonts

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Competitors

kayleech prefers Safari over Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera
Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

hartleyadam884

avatar
December 6, 2007
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
60
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
2 cons
want itwant it
love itlove it
have ithave it

Pros

  • Text boxes can be resized
  • Very cool find interface
  • Easy to read fonts

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions
  • Can't press "/" to bring up find

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No

Ian Kraemer

avatar
August 8, 2009
approved
reviewer
ProSCORE
75
negative
mixed
positive
3 pros
1 con
have ithave it
love itlove it

Pros

  • Open source rendering engine shared with Google Chrome
  • doesnt crash as easily as IE
  • It's design is great

Cons

  • Firefox has better/more extensions

Did you find this review helpful?
Yes
 / 
No
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