Test your site on browsers running on real devices to be certain everything behaves as expected. Firefox Responsive Design View Firefox has a responsive design view that encourages you to stop thinking in terms of specific devices and instead explore how your design changes at common screen sizes or your own size by dragging the edges.
When it comes to designing and developing for the web, you will at some point in time inevitably come across a bug, compatibility and or rendering issue, with a browser in which you don't have access to. Even with ever-improving standards support you almost always have to rely on third party tools to diagnose the issue. So today we want to cover the top 12 browser compatibility testing tools which you can use to debug problems and ensure all your visitors are receiving the same experience on your website or application.
Browser compatibility testing
- The first steps of Safari on Windows haven't been as good as Apple thought and that can be really good for users, because from now on, Apple will work really hard in order to improve Safari. The elegant interface of Safari and its expected performance can be a good reason to give Safari a try.
- The best site to test website and see them realtime on MAC Safari is by using. They have like 25 free minutes of first time testing and then 10 free mins each day.You can even test your pages from your local PC by using their WEB TUNNEL Feature.
Designing and development website and applications can be a lot of fun, but along with that also means a responsibility to ensure that everyone is receiving the same experience across different devices, browsers, operating systems, resolutions, etc. When you think about it, there is a lot that can go wrong, and most likely your project will never be perfect 100% of the time. But if you don't, you could lose potential customers. Say for example your website doesn't render properly in IE9. That customer might simply leave and visit your competitor who did spend time on browser compatibility testing.
This is your silly web browser doing that. The file is correctly named.
- Rasmus Lerdorf, Father of PHP
What is browser testing?
Browser testing, also referred to as cross browser testing is the process of ensuring that your website or web application works as intended in any given browser. This can include both the client side and the server side. This involves many different metrics, such as:
- Code validation: Making sure your JavaScript and CSS validates across different browsers.
- Performance: Ensuring optimal web performance on all platforms.
- Mobile: Responsiveness for mobile browsers based on resolution, rotation, & viewport.
- User Interface: Checking to make sure the UI matches your original plans.
- Behavior: User experience throughout should be the same, navigation, links, dialog boxes, etc.
A couple questions you might need to answer:
- Do you need to support all browsers and or all operating systems?
- What legacy platforms do you need to and or are willing to support? If you have a current user base it can be important to check your analytics and logs to ensure you don't lose customers on older platforms.
- Should your code fully validate on all platforms and browsers?
List of browser compatibility testing tools
There are a lot of different browser compatibility testing tools out there, below are 12 of the most popular ones. Each of them offers their own unique features, supported browser versions, platforms, and different ways to debug issues. These are in no particular order and include both free and paid tools.
1. BrowserStack [paid]
BrowserStack is a very popular live, web-based browser testing tool used by some very big brands such as Microsoft, jQuery, Twitter, Airbnb, Bose, and Wikipedia. They give you instant access to a VM with dev tools. If you need to debug something fast without a lot of hassle, these guys make it almost a joy to start troubleshooting.
Browserstack features
One of Browserstack's best features is that they provide real browsers installed on real devices, so testing on them is just as good as testing on a browser installed on your local machine. They even have a local secure testing feature which is great for developers.
- A solid mix of 6 OS X and 5 Windows versions.
- 1000+ different browser versions including Firefox, IE, Edge, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Yandex and mobile versions such as iPhone, Nexus, and Samsung Galaxy.
- Test desktop resolutions from 800x600 to 2048x1536 and everything in-between.
Pricing starts at $29 / month which gives you unlimited live, unlimited screenshots, and responsive testing.
2. Browsershots [free]
Browsershots has been around since 2005 and focuses on one thing, and that is capturing screenshots within a browser. It was built on a unique idea of allowing people to volunteer computers to be the processing power. Currently it has over 65, what they like to call 'screenshot factories.'
Browsershots features
Browsershots is completely free, ad-driven and features over 200 different browser versions to capture screenshots from. Unfortunately one browser missing is Internet Explorer, which sometimes is the one needed most. But for a free service, they do a good job.
- Browsers supported range from Arora, Chrome, Dillo, Epiphany, Firefox, Iceweasel, Konqueror, Links, Laukit, Opera, SeaMonkey, and Safari.
- Test desktop resolutions from 640 px to 1600 px.
- Disable JavaScript, Change Color Depth, and disable/enable Java and Flash.
3. Browserling [free + paid]
Browserling is a live interactive cross-browser testing tool launched in 2010 by Peteris Krumins and James Halliday. There focus is all about getting you up and testing in a matter of seconds. Some of their customers include brands such as Teespring, NHS, PubNub, blekko, and coderwall.
Browserling features
Similarly to Browerstack, they also connect you with real browsers running on real machines so you can ensure that it is testing just as if you had it installed on your local machine. They even have Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and Safari extensions.
Install Safari On Windows 10
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 They also have Android mobile.
- SSH tunnels for local testing + API
They have both free and paid plans. The free plans include 3 minute sessions of IE9 on Windows Vista. Their paid plans start at $19 / month which include pretty much unlimited everything.
4. Litmus [paid]
Litmus is probably most famous for their email inbox testing, which they have been perfecting since 2005. They branched out into what they call page testing and allow you to see how your pages appear in popular web browsers on both desktop and mobile platforms. This is really geared more for designers, but could also be useful for developers.
Litmus features
One thing that is awesome about Litmus is their UI. Their tools are easy to navigate and are always very fast. They also have a cool share feature which allows you to send a page to another designer or developer to allow them to see it.
- Browsers supported range from Chrome, Firefox, IE 9, IE 10, IE 11, Safari, and mobile versions.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Pricing starts at $60 / month which gives page testing and also access to their email and spam filter testing.
5. IE NetRenderer [free]
IE NetRenderer is another screenshot service that has been around for quite some time. It allows you to check how a website is displayed by the numerous versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Older versions of Microsoft's Web browsers are known for their sometimes unexpected behavior and failure to comply with W3C internet standards. This online tool is ideally suited for web designers working on Macs and Linux.
IE NetRenderer features
IE NetRenderer is completely free to use, ad-driven, and unlike other screenshot services they are able to process a large number of capturing jobs in parallel and realtime, making it very fast.
- Browsers supported range from Internet Explorer 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5.5.
- Maximum usable viewing widths on 800x600 and 1024x768 displays.
6. Browser Sandbox [free + paid]
Browser Sandbox is a tool run by turbo.net, which allows you a unique way to test web browser issues. Turbo.net is a web-based container platform that runs desktop and server applications instantly on any Windows Desktop.
Browser Sandbox features
- Browsers supported range from Internet Explorer 6 - 11, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and nightly builds.
- Click to run, with no install required.
They have a free plan which allows you to run the latest version of applications with 10GB of storage. Their legacy software paid plans start at $9.95 / month.
7. TestingBot [paid]
TestingBot is an automated and manual cross browser testing tool that launched in 2011. They run one of the largest Selenium Grids on the web.
TestingBot features
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. They also have mobile browsers.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux, and iOS. They also have mobile versions.
Their paid plans start at $30 / month 400 minutes automated, 2 concurrent VMs, 200 screenshots and unlimited manual tests.
8. BrowseEmAll [paid]
BrowseEmAll is another cross browser testing tool which focuses on live testing, screenshots and code analytics on your local machine. Some of their users include brands such as Blue Cross, OSU, Bank of Cardiff, and University Newcastle.
BrowseEmAll features
One nice little feature they have is a side by side browser UI testing dashboard which allows you to run up to 4 different browsers and mobile devices simultaneously.
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. They also have mobile browsers.
- Test quickly using simulators for mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
Their paid plans start at $19 / month which gives you unlimited usage, 25+ desktop browsers, and the ability to run them on your local machine.
9. MultiBrowser [free + paid]
MultiBrowser is a responsive, mobile & cross-browser testing software, which launched in 2009. Some of their users include big brands such as xerox, at&t, Experian, and Nationwide.
MultiBrowser features
Because of how MultiBrowser runs it is a Windows only product. You can run it using Parallels/VMware/Virtualbox though, in fact in many ways it is recommended as it allows you to return to a clean snapshot state at the start of each test.
- Run IE 6 - 11, Safari 5.1 all Firefox and Chrome versions as standalone browsers - test seamlessly on a single Windows desktop locally without VMs or tunnels.
- Debug your site in iPhone, iPad and Android emulators replete with landscape/portrait toggles, mobile network speed simulation, HTML5 markup validation, developer tools and built-in video recording.
They have free plans which allow you access to the latest 3 browsers and mobile emulators. Their paid plans start $149 per license and allow you access to everything.
10. CrossBrowserTesting [paid]
CrossBrowserTesting is exactly what it sounds like, a cross-browser testing service that launched in 2008. Test your website in dozens of browsers and real devices with instant results. Over one thousand combinations of browsers, OS platforms, and devices. They use real physical devices for all tests.
CrossBrowserTesting features
They have a cool automated screenshot feature which allows you to generate screens across hundreds of different platforms in just a matter of minutes.
- Browsers supported range from pretty much every version of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. 1500+ in total.
- 65 operating systems supported, including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and more.
Their paid plans start at $29 / month which include unlimited manual tests, 150 minutes of automated testing, screenshots, and 2 concurrent tests.
11. Equafy [free + paid] [deprecated]
Equafy is a newer automated cross browser testing service suited to the needs of web design, development and quality assurance. They allow you to create test scenarios, select browsers and resolutions, and check the cross browser differences.
Equafy features
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer (IE8 - 11), Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. They also have mobile browsers.
- Unique auto scan feature for improving your testing.
They have have free plans which include 600 automated tests, and windows & linux browsers. Their paid plans start at $9 / month and include additional browser support. One unique feature to Equafy is they support open source. Open source projects can use their service for free.
12. Sauce Labs [free + paid]
Sauce Labs is a very popular cross browser testing tool among developers that features Selenium testing, mobile testing, and JS unit testing. Some of their customers include brands such as Yahoo, zendesk, lyft, intuit, OpenDNS, and HP.
Sauce Labs features
They offer both automated testing and manual testing features.
- Browsers supported range from pretty much every version of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. 1500+ in total. They also have mobile browsers.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux, and OS X. They also have mobile versions.
Other browser testing tools
Here are a couple other testing tools that definitely deserve a mention:
- IETester: This project doesn't seem to be actively updated anymore, but still offers a good free way to test Internet Explorer versions 5 through 11.
- Lunascape: A free web browser which uniquely features the ability to switch between three different rendering engines, Trident, Gecko, and WebKit.
- Ghostlab: Test any website on various browsers and mobile devices simultaneously.
And don't forget that Chrome DevTools and Firefox Developer Tools both have responsive design modes to test against different resolutions.
Virtual machines
Another way to easily test and debug browser compatibility issues is to use a virtual machine. Here are some options:
- Microsoft Edge (virtual machines)
Summary
As you can see there are plenty browser compatibility testing tools to help you diagnose any issue that might come up. As a web developer and designer it is your responsibility to ensure that everyone receives the same experience across all devices, whether it be on an old version of IE, or on their iPhone.
Test Safari On Windows 10 64-bit
Did we miss any really important ones? If so, feel free to comment below.
No More Safari for Windows 10 Users
Safari is the iconic OS X and iOS browser. Its Java-based engine makes Safari the fastest browser ever. Besides, it has many attractive features that other browsers lack.
Safari's approach to cybersecurity is number one winning factor for me here. It's no secret that browsers are tracking your online activity to barrage you with ads afterwards. They also save your history, links you visited and so on.
Safari features a Private Browsing mode to keep your browsing hidden and secure. That's not too big of a deal you may say, since Google Chrome and Edge have that same option. What they don't have is the built-in stealth search engine Duck Duck Go. With other browsers you have to use Google search, and that still unfortunately tracks you. Your activity maybe stays anonymous in the sense that your browser history won't be recorded, otherwise there isn't anything else 'anonymous' about surfing the web while using this feature in Chrome.
Sandboxing is also another great feature that Safari has. Not only can Safari warn you against downloading phishing or malware-infested sites, but it can also forbid sites engines to run certain software while downloading. With the help of machine learning, Safari identifies advertisements and spammers and removes the cross‑site tracking data they leave behind.
Safari is also a very customizable browser. The most appealing feature is Reader mode when you can read any article without ads, navigation, and share-it buttons. The soaring video window is also very handy. You can drag-and-drop it anywhere you like on the screen and work with your e-mail or documents while your favorite music video is playing in the upper right corner. There's no way to pull this same trick off in Chrome, Edge or Opera.
There are a lot of different browser compatibility testing tools out there, below are 12 of the most popular ones. Each of them offers their own unique features, supported browser versions, platforms, and different ways to debug issues. These are in no particular order and include both free and paid tools.
1. BrowserStack [paid]
BrowserStack is a very popular live, web-based browser testing tool used by some very big brands such as Microsoft, jQuery, Twitter, Airbnb, Bose, and Wikipedia. They give you instant access to a VM with dev tools. If you need to debug something fast without a lot of hassle, these guys make it almost a joy to start troubleshooting.
Browserstack features
One of Browserstack's best features is that they provide real browsers installed on real devices, so testing on them is just as good as testing on a browser installed on your local machine. They even have a local secure testing feature which is great for developers.
- A solid mix of 6 OS X and 5 Windows versions.
- 1000+ different browser versions including Firefox, IE, Edge, Chrome, Opera, Safari, Yandex and mobile versions such as iPhone, Nexus, and Samsung Galaxy.
- Test desktop resolutions from 800x600 to 2048x1536 and everything in-between.
Pricing starts at $29 / month which gives you unlimited live, unlimited screenshots, and responsive testing.
2. Browsershots [free]
Browsershots has been around since 2005 and focuses on one thing, and that is capturing screenshots within a browser. It was built on a unique idea of allowing people to volunteer computers to be the processing power. Currently it has over 65, what they like to call 'screenshot factories.'
Browsershots features
Browsershots is completely free, ad-driven and features over 200 different browser versions to capture screenshots from. Unfortunately one browser missing is Internet Explorer, which sometimes is the one needed most. But for a free service, they do a good job.
- Browsers supported range from Arora, Chrome, Dillo, Epiphany, Firefox, Iceweasel, Konqueror, Links, Laukit, Opera, SeaMonkey, and Safari.
- Test desktop resolutions from 640 px to 1600 px.
- Disable JavaScript, Change Color Depth, and disable/enable Java and Flash.
3. Browserling [free + paid]
Browserling is a live interactive cross-browser testing tool launched in 2010 by Peteris Krumins and James Halliday. There focus is all about getting you up and testing in a matter of seconds. Some of their customers include brands such as Teespring, NHS, PubNub, blekko, and coderwall.
Browserling features
Similarly to Browerstack, they also connect you with real browsers running on real machines so you can ensure that it is testing just as if you had it installed on your local machine. They even have Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and Safari extensions.
Install Safari On Windows 10
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 They also have Android mobile.
- SSH tunnels for local testing + API
They have both free and paid plans. The free plans include 3 minute sessions of IE9 on Windows Vista. Their paid plans start at $19 / month which include pretty much unlimited everything.
4. Litmus [paid]
Litmus is probably most famous for their email inbox testing, which they have been perfecting since 2005. They branched out into what they call page testing and allow you to see how your pages appear in popular web browsers on both desktop and mobile platforms. This is really geared more for designers, but could also be useful for developers.
Litmus features
One thing that is awesome about Litmus is their UI. Their tools are easy to navigate and are always very fast. They also have a cool share feature which allows you to send a page to another designer or developer to allow them to see it.
- Browsers supported range from Chrome, Firefox, IE 9, IE 10, IE 11, Safari, and mobile versions.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Pricing starts at $60 / month which gives page testing and also access to their email and spam filter testing.
5. IE NetRenderer [free]
IE NetRenderer is another screenshot service that has been around for quite some time. It allows you to check how a website is displayed by the numerous versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer. Older versions of Microsoft's Web browsers are known for their sometimes unexpected behavior and failure to comply with W3C internet standards. This online tool is ideally suited for web designers working on Macs and Linux.
IE NetRenderer features
IE NetRenderer is completely free to use, ad-driven, and unlike other screenshot services they are able to process a large number of capturing jobs in parallel and realtime, making it very fast.
- Browsers supported range from Internet Explorer 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 and 5.5.
- Maximum usable viewing widths on 800x600 and 1024x768 displays.
6. Browser Sandbox [free + paid]
Browser Sandbox is a tool run by turbo.net, which allows you a unique way to test web browser issues. Turbo.net is a web-based container platform that runs desktop and server applications instantly on any Windows Desktop.
Browser Sandbox features
- Browsers supported range from Internet Explorer 6 - 11, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and nightly builds.
- Click to run, with no install required.
They have a free plan which allows you to run the latest version of applications with 10GB of storage. Their legacy software paid plans start at $9.95 / month.
7. TestingBot [paid]
TestingBot is an automated and manual cross browser testing tool that launched in 2011. They run one of the largest Selenium Grids on the web.
TestingBot features
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. They also have mobile browsers.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux, and iOS. They also have mobile versions.
Their paid plans start at $30 / month 400 minutes automated, 2 concurrent VMs, 200 screenshots and unlimited manual tests.
8. BrowseEmAll [paid]
BrowseEmAll is another cross browser testing tool which focuses on live testing, screenshots and code analytics on your local machine. Some of their users include brands such as Blue Cross, OSU, Bank of Cardiff, and University Newcastle.
BrowseEmAll features
One nice little feature they have is a side by side browser UI testing dashboard which allows you to run up to 4 different browsers and mobile devices simultaneously.
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. They also have mobile browsers.
- Test quickly using simulators for mobile operating systems like iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone.
Their paid plans start at $19 / month which gives you unlimited usage, 25+ desktop browsers, and the ability to run them on your local machine.
9. MultiBrowser [free + paid]
MultiBrowser is a responsive, mobile & cross-browser testing software, which launched in 2009. Some of their users include big brands such as xerox, at&t, Experian, and Nationwide.
MultiBrowser features
Because of how MultiBrowser runs it is a Windows only product. You can run it using Parallels/VMware/Virtualbox though, in fact in many ways it is recommended as it allows you to return to a clean snapshot state at the start of each test.
- Run IE 6 - 11, Safari 5.1 all Firefox and Chrome versions as standalone browsers - test seamlessly on a single Windows desktop locally without VMs or tunnels.
- Debug your site in iPhone, iPad and Android emulators replete with landscape/portrait toggles, mobile network speed simulation, HTML5 markup validation, developer tools and built-in video recording.
They have free plans which allow you access to the latest 3 browsers and mobile emulators. Their paid plans start $149 per license and allow you access to everything.
10. CrossBrowserTesting [paid]
CrossBrowserTesting is exactly what it sounds like, a cross-browser testing service that launched in 2008. Test your website in dozens of browsers and real devices with instant results. Over one thousand combinations of browsers, OS platforms, and devices. They use real physical devices for all tests.
CrossBrowserTesting features
They have a cool automated screenshot feature which allows you to generate screens across hundreds of different platforms in just a matter of minutes.
- Browsers supported range from pretty much every version of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. 1500+ in total.
- 65 operating systems supported, including iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and more.
Their paid plans start at $29 / month which include unlimited manual tests, 150 minutes of automated testing, screenshots, and 2 concurrent tests.
11. Equafy [free + paid] [deprecated]
Equafy is a newer automated cross browser testing service suited to the needs of web design, development and quality assurance. They allow you to create test scenarios, select browsers and resolutions, and check the cross browser differences.
Equafy features
- Browsers supported range from most versions of Internet Explorer (IE8 - 11), Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. They also have mobile browsers.
- Unique auto scan feature for improving your testing.
They have have free plans which include 600 automated tests, and windows & linux browsers. Their paid plans start at $9 / month and include additional browser support. One unique feature to Equafy is they support open source. Open source projects can use their service for free.
12. Sauce Labs [free + paid]
Sauce Labs is a very popular cross browser testing tool among developers that features Selenium testing, mobile testing, and JS unit testing. Some of their customers include brands such as Yahoo, zendesk, lyft, intuit, OpenDNS, and HP.
Sauce Labs features
They offer both automated testing and manual testing features.
- Browsers supported range from pretty much every version of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and Firefox. 1500+ in total. They also have mobile browsers.
- Operating systems supported range from Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Linux, and OS X. They also have mobile versions.
Other browser testing tools
Here are a couple other testing tools that definitely deserve a mention:
- IETester: This project doesn't seem to be actively updated anymore, but still offers a good free way to test Internet Explorer versions 5 through 11.
- Lunascape: A free web browser which uniquely features the ability to switch between three different rendering engines, Trident, Gecko, and WebKit.
- Ghostlab: Test any website on various browsers and mobile devices simultaneously.
And don't forget that Chrome DevTools and Firefox Developer Tools both have responsive design modes to test against different resolutions.
Virtual machines
Another way to easily test and debug browser compatibility issues is to use a virtual machine. Here are some options:
- Microsoft Edge (virtual machines)
Summary
As you can see there are plenty browser compatibility testing tools to help you diagnose any issue that might come up. As a web developer and designer it is your responsibility to ensure that everyone receives the same experience across all devices, whether it be on an old version of IE, or on their iPhone.
Test Safari On Windows 10 64-bit
Did we miss any really important ones? If so, feel free to comment below.
No More Safari for Windows 10 Users
Safari is the iconic OS X and iOS browser. Its Java-based engine makes Safari the fastest browser ever. Besides, it has many attractive features that other browsers lack.
Safari's approach to cybersecurity is number one winning factor for me here. It's no secret that browsers are tracking your online activity to barrage you with ads afterwards. They also save your history, links you visited and so on.
Safari features a Private Browsing mode to keep your browsing hidden and secure. That's not too big of a deal you may say, since Google Chrome and Edge have that same option. What they don't have is the built-in stealth search engine Duck Duck Go. With other browsers you have to use Google search, and that still unfortunately tracks you. Your activity maybe stays anonymous in the sense that your browser history won't be recorded, otherwise there isn't anything else 'anonymous' about surfing the web while using this feature in Chrome.
Sandboxing is also another great feature that Safari has. Not only can Safari warn you against downloading phishing or malware-infested sites, but it can also forbid sites engines to run certain software while downloading. With the help of machine learning, Safari identifies advertisements and spammers and removes the cross‑site tracking data they leave behind.
Safari is also a very customizable browser. The most appealing feature is Reader mode when you can read any article without ads, navigation, and share-it buttons. The soaring video window is also very handy. You can drag-and-drop it anywhere you like on the screen and work with your e-mail or documents while your favorite music video is playing in the upper right corner. There's no way to pull this same trick off in Chrome, Edge or Opera.
You can get all of this and even more if you happen to be a Mac or an iPhone/iPad owner. Apple pulled the plug on the Safari for Windows project in 2012. If you google ‘safari for windows 10' you'll come up with tons of links, and nine out of ten will bring you to a phishing or scam site.
The only trusted site nowadays is from Softonic, that developed Safari in the first place. The only version you can download and install is Safari 4.1.7. I still decided to give it a go. I knew that I wouldn't get half of those amazing features I wrote about above, but I wanted to see if I could get a faster beast than Chrome – whom I've recently come to hate.
I own a one-year old Windows 10 laptop and I tried to install the Safari browser for Windows. It took an unexpectedly long time for the software to install… about 10 minutes. I was also asked to confirm my administrator privileges twice during the process. When it finished, Safari failed to run, even though I checked the ‘run after installation' box. I did find the Safari Icon on my desktop, and then I clicked on it.
The browser was slow running it on my laptop on the first try, but when I closed and reopened it, Safari started to work much faster. Even faster than my Chrome! It opened up both light and heavy sites, no matter how many hi-resolution pictures of text they had. The only problem was the tools bar. I had to customize it and add the ‘new tag' button, but other than that Safari ran smoothly.
Safari 5.1.7 failed to playback a Flash or HTML5 video. Image source: Macworld UK.
I was thinking about exporting my bookmarks from Chrome when I ran into a roadblock. Safari 5.1.7 failed to playback a Flash or HTML5 video. OK, maybe it was too old for the HTML5, but what about Flash? Usually, Safari users are told to authorize third-party plug-ins in the Settings, but this didn't work with the old version. The boxes were checked, but Flash still wouldn't run.
YouTube informed me politely that it didn't support the browser I had but somehow identified it as Mozilla. Hoping that it was just a glitch, I reloaded the page and surprisingly the YouTube video frames were back. I managed to log in and clicked the play button, but the video still wouldn't start. The downloading ring kept circling, and I kept waiting without any result.
A brief tour through other video hostings discovered the ugly truth. If you opt for Safari on Windows, videos just won't work for you. I even tried to download Adobe Flash for Mozilla (the only other option being Adobe Flash for Edge and Chrome) but it didn't run with Safari either. I guess, Adobe engineers just couldn't imagine anyone trying to run old Safari on Windows 10.
The uninstall process took only four minutes, so that was a relief. I was a bit apprehensive about all of this, and all in all the verdict was disappointing. If you want to enjoy Safari's advantages, buy an Apple product. Safari will probably never come to Windows or Android and will remain the Apple key feature.
Links
- Looking for the place to sell your electronics? Get free quote today at iGotOffer.com – the best place to sell old devices online
- Everything About Apple's Products – The complete guide to all Apple consumer electronic products, including technical specifications, identifiers and other valuable information.
- Everything About Microsoft's Products – The complete guide to all Microsoft consumer electronic products, including technical specifications, identifiers and other valuable information.
Best Web Browsers 2017 [Video]
Video uploaded by TechGumbo on February 3, 2017
