Which Browser Should You Be Running On Your iPad And iPhone?

Features
By Adam Overa
published

Welcome to our first ever mobile Web Browser Grand Prix! How do Web browsers on iOS, the world's number-one tablet platform, compare? Today, Yahoo! Axis, Google Chrome, Dolphin, Maxthon, Apple Safari, and Sleipnir vie for supremacy on the third-gen iPad.

Benchmark Results: HTML5 HWA And Security

HTML5 Hardware Acceleration

We had to use WebVizBench as the sole hardware acceleration benchmark for iOS because Pyschedelic Browsing and JSGameBench fail to run properly. These results are the average of two iterations.

Maxthon and Sleipnir tie for first place with a very minor lead over second-place finishers Axis, Chrome, and Safari. Dolphin again displays a very minor disadvantage, placing third. For all intents and purposes, HTML5 hardware acceleration performance will be the same on any iOS browser, although with all other factors being equal, Safari would most likely have an advantage on any real-world HTML5 pages due to the Nitro JavaScript engine.

Security

The BrowserScope Security test appears to still be valid, as most browsers continue to fail at least one of its 17 security checkpoints.

Not much happens, though. Again, since each iOS browser is essentially Safari in different clothes, it's no surprise that all iOS-based browsers earn the exact same score: 14.

Adam Overa
38 Comments Comment from the forums
  • esrever
    All of them are the same since apple doesn't give developers any freedom.
    Reply
  • ksampanna
    I mean, c'mon ... bt obviously
    Reply
  • LuckyDucky7
    Was this review even necessary?
    There is no choice of browsers on iOS. None. Every "browser" is just a sub-par Safari wrapper.

    It's not like people buy iOS devices for the ability to tailor the device to their liking, after all- it's not called the "reality distortion field" for nothing.
    Reply
  • victorious 3930k
    You may have forgotten the useful extra features category, where Chrome for iOS wins by MILES.
    Reply
  • murzar
    But Tom's Hardware, I hate Apple. What about Android?

    Such condescension! What about people who actually like Android more? Or find its features more beneficial?

    Not every Android user hates Apple.


    Reply
  • barathn
    I like the last paragraph
    Reply
  • gamecube
    I hope next week we see not only tablet review. I'm more interested in the phone part of Android.

    And Ubuntu just release 12.10. This is a good time to have another Ubuntu Web Browser Grand Prix.
    Reply
  • I'm curious what the benchmarks would be like if they installed the Nitrous Cydia tweak, which allows third party apps to use the Nitro engine. Any chance we can get a follow-up?
    Reply
  • no IE ?
    Reply
  • amdfangirl
    no IE ?

    On iOS?
    Reply