Key Points
- You are not required to use Safari on Mac. You can choose your own default browser. Some popular browser options are Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge. To make this change, visit the System Preferences icon on your Mac.
Safari is the default browser for Apple devices. It’s usually pre-installed on new iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks. Luckily you are not locked into using Safari. You can explore other options. Various web browsers are available, depending on how you interact with websites and, ultimately, the experience on your computer. Google Chrome, Firefox, and Microsoft Edge are popular. All of these browsers offer different features. The choice of one browser over another is down to personal needs and preferences. Luckily they are all free.
© 19 STUDIO/Shutterstock.com
Browser Options for Mac
You can download and use different browsers on your machine. Of course, this does not streamline your experience. We highly recommend having two browsers installed on your computer. If one browser becomes problematic, you can switch to the other. To help you pick a browser, we will briefly review the top three options you can download on your Mac below.
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is the most popular web browser worldwide across mobile and desktop devices. Thanks to the performance, simplicity, and support for new web-code standards have made Google Chrome hard to compete with. Plus, Google Chrome gets regular updates and fixes that help improve the already excellent performance and security. Even if you don’t use Google Chrome as your default browser, we recommend having Chrome installed on your computer as the second choice.
Mozilla Firefox
Firefox is the most popular open-source browser in the market currently. Open-source means it is accessible to the community to add to the code and make changes. Firefox is also the most security and privacy-focused browser. Its main advantage over Google Chrome is how lightweight it is. Even older computers can efficiently run Firefox at full speed with less RAM than it takes to run Chrome. Even though it is more popular with experienced computer users, the interface is straightforward.
Microsoft Edge
Edge is available on Mac devices and doesn’t cut anything from the Windows version. Although it has a brand new look and name, Edge is the latest version of the classic Internet Explorer. It has a simplistic interface that is a pleasure to use despite your comfort with technology. It’s fast, and the tab organization is fantastic compared to its two main competitors. The biggest downside of Edge is that it doesn’t always work on every website.
This makes Edge hard to recommend to use as your primary browser. But if you like the interface more than the other browsers we talked about today, that matters more than a few websites not working. That’s why we recommend having multiple web browsers installed on your computer.
Changing Your Default Browser On a Mac
Before making one browser your new default, try different browsers and see which works best for you. Then, after you have found your new favorite, follow these steps below to make that browser your new default on your Mac.
1. Open System Preferences
Select System Preferences from the drop-down menu.
2. Click On General
This will open up a window that you might have seen before. From the options displayed, click on General.
3. Select Default Browser
In the General menu, you will see a list of options to change the default browser. Click on the drop-down menu next to Default Web Browser.
And that’s it. Now anytime you open up links from emails or anything else, it will open in your new browser.
NEXT UP…
- How to Open a Flash Drive on Mac (with Photos)How to Install Git on Windows (with Photos)Best Linux Distro for AMD Processors
