Web Browser Grand Prix VI: Firefox 6, Chrome 13, Mac OS X Lion

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Chrome 13, Firefox 6, Safari 5.1, and Mac OS X Lion (10.7) have all emerged since our last Web Browser Grand Prix. Today, we test the latest browsers on both major platforms. How do the Mac-based browsers stack up against their Windows 7 counterparts?

The Contenders

ChromeVendor:GoogleDebut:9/02/2008Current Version:13Layout Engine:WebKitJavaScript Engine:V8Supported Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux, ChromeOSHTML5 Hardware Acceleration:NoWebGL:YesWBGP Wins:3 (WBGP1, WBGP2:Linux, and WBGP5)Download Chrome!

Chrome 13 on Windows 7

Chrome 13 on Mac OS X Lion

FirefoxVendor:MozillaDebut:11/09/2004Current Version:6Layout Engine:Gecko 2.0JavaScript Engine:JagerMonkeySupported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxHTML Hardware Acceleration:YesWebGL:YesWBGP Wins:NoneDownload Firefox!

Firefox 6 on Windows 7

Firefox 6 on Mac OS X Lion

Internet ExplorerVendor:MicrosoftDebut:8/16/1995Current Version:9Layout Engine:TridentJavaScript Engine:ChakraSupported Platforms:Windows (Vista and 7)HTML5 Hardware Acceleration:YesWebGL:NoWBGP Wins:2 (WBGP3 and WBGP4)Download Internet Explorer!

Internet Explorer 9 on Windows 7

OperaVendor:Opera SoftwareDebut:12/09/1996Current Version:11.50Layout Engine:PrestoJavaScript Engine:CarakanSupported Platforms:Windows, Mac, LinuxHTML5 Hardware Acceleration:NoWebGL:NoWBGP Wins:1 (WBGP2)Download Opera!

Opera 11.50 on Windows 7

Opera 11.50 on Mac OS X Lion

SafariVendor:AppleDebut:1/07/2003Current Version:5.1Layout Engine:WebKit 2JavaScript Engine:NitroSupported Platforms:Windows, MacHTML5 Hardware Acceleration:Yes (Mac only)WebGL:NoWBGP Wins:NoneDownload Safari!

Safari 5.1 on Mac OS X Lion

Safari 5.1 on Windows 7

All Apple products are known as much for their form as their function, and Safari is no exception. Apple is a total experience company. They control the horizontal. They control the vertical. Pairing Apple products with other Apple products is how they're intended to be used. So, let's take a look at what Safari does on Apple's own operating system with a spotlight on Safari for Mac.

92 Comments Comment from the forums
  • ne0nguy
    The first chart says "higher is better" for the load time
    Reply
  • adamovera
    ne0nguyThe first chart says "higher is better" for the load timethank you, workin' on it
    Reply
  • SteelCity1981
    Chrome is the best browser out there right now. While FireFox maybe more popular then Chrome is, Chrome has shown why it is the best browser out today. If you haven't used Chrome yet it's def worth a look.
    Reply
  • soccerdocks
    The reader function in safari actually looks really nice. Although I'd never use Safari on principle. I hope other browsers implement a similar function.
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    why does firefox(6/8/9) performa so horribly on the IE9 maze solover test?
    chrome13 completely obliterats it.

    and firefox 8/9 are still a memory hog.
    not really surprised by poor show of ie9. moat updates it gets are "security updates".
    Reply
  • tofu2go
    Being on a Macbook with only 3GB of memory, memory is the most important factor for me. I open a LOT of tabs and I keep them open for long periods. For awhile I used Chrome, but recently switched to Firefox 6 and saw my memory utilization drop by well over 1GB. Granted with Firefox I was able to do something I am not able to do in any other browser, I could group my tabs into tab groups. I believe this allows for more efficient memory management, i.e. only the current group uses much memory. Not having done any tests, this is pure speculation. All I know is that I'm seeing MUCH lower memory usage with Firefox on OSX. Despite what this article would suggest.
    Reply
  • @soccerdocks

    Yeah? And exactly what principle would that be?
    Reply
  • andy5174
    @Google:
    Bring back the Google Dictionary, otherwise I will use Bing Search, Firefox and Facebook instead of Google Search, Chrome and G+.
    Reply
  • kartu
    Firefox 6 comes in third for both OSes, representing a major drop from Firefox 5.
    According to the graphic on "Reliability Benchmarks: Proper Page Loads" on MacOS Firefox is actually second, not third.
    Reply
  • LaloFG
    I keep Opera, more memory used and time to load pages is nothing when it load pages correctly; and the feeling in its interface is the greater.
    Reply