Switched from Safari to Microsoft Edge

Cromulent · 25 Feb 2023 at 14:05

I've just switched from Safari to Microsoft Edge. It is annoying as I have to sign in to all the websites I use regularly, but I think it is worth it just for vertical tabs. What a difference that makes. It uses much less screen space and feels fast as well. Plus, because it uses the same engine as Chrome, I can be sure that websites will work well with it. Edge also has way more extensions that work well than Safari.

Has anyone else changed to a different browser than Safari, and if so, which one?

Feek · 25 Feb 2023 at 17:09

I've been a solid Safari user for years, switched to it from Chrome a while back but I do keep hearing good things about Edge. I've just installed it to give it a try. One thing I like a lot about Safari is that when I open a new tab, it shows me a bunch of my favourites in icon format and I'd like to have something similar in Edge. Can that be done?

Cromulent · 25 Feb 2023 at 17:25

Feek said:
I've been a solid Safari user for years, switched to it from Chrome a while back but I do keep hearing good things about Edge. I've just installed it to give it a try. One thing I like a lot about Safari is that when I open a new tab, it shows me a bunch of my favourites in icon format and I'd like to have something similar in Edge. Can that be done?

Yes, you can do that. You need to play around in settings, though, as by default, it shows some crappy news links (from MSN, I guess?).

Feek · 25 Feb 2023 at 17:49

Hmm, not that I can see yet. I'll keep playing.

The lack of integration with TouchID or Apple watch unlocking is already frustrating me. I needed to sign into iCloud and for the first time in forever, I had to put my login name and password in. I assume ApplePay doesn't work in Edge either?

Cromulent · 25 Feb 2023 at 17:56

Feek said:
Hmm, not that I can see yet. I'll keep playing.

The lack of integration with TouchID or Apple watch unlocking is already frustrating me. I needed to sign into iCloud and for the first time in forever, I had to put my login name and password in. I assume ApplePay doesn't work in Edge either?

Go to Settings -> Start, home and New Tabs -> Customise your new tab page layout and content -> Customize.

I haven't tried Apple Pay.

Feek · 25 Feb 2023 at 18:14

Cromulent said:
Go to Settings -> Start, home and New Tabs -> Customise your new tab page layout and content -> Customize.

Yeah, been there. I can't specifiy that I want it to show favourites. I can set the 'home' page to edge://favorites but not what's displayed when I do cmd-t.

Cromulent · 25 Feb 2023 at 18:22

Feek said:
Yeah, been there. I can't specifiy that I want it to show favourites. I can set the 'home' page to edge://favorites but not what's displayed when I do cmd-t.

Ah, I see. Sorry, I misunderstood you. The links on the page I use are my most visited sites and not favourites.

You can show the favourites bar only on new tabs if that would be acceptable.

martin363 · 25 Feb 2023 at 20:15

I have been using Edge for a year, find it to be great, never got on with Safari.

random_matt · 26 Feb 2023 at 08:18

Safari for life. Edge is hideous, Firefox is the best alternative on windows.

Deleted member 77746 · 26 Feb 2023 at 08:26

Edge is great. If you haven’t tried it give it a go.

visibleman · 26 Feb 2023 at 15:13

Use Vivaldi; still Chromium underneath like Chrome/Edge but seems a little more lightweight plus, it supports a range of plugins unlike Safari which is my biggest gripe with it.

Cromulent · 26 Feb 2023 at 15:35

visibleman said:
Use Vivaldi; still Chromium underneath like Chrome/Edge but seems a little more lightweight plus, it supports a range of plugins unlike Safari which is my biggest gripe with it.

I'm not sure. I'm pretty happy with Edge, but if I were going to try something else out, I would go back to Firefox simply because it offers Firefox Containers, my favourite browser feature ever.

ChrisD. · 27 Feb 2023 at 08:39

I use Safari as my main browser, but some sites don't play well with it and for those I use Edge.

Feek · 27 Feb 2023 at 09:20

I spent the weekend trying Edge and although it has some nice features, I can't get over the lack of TouchID integration which means no ApplePay and having to use a password to log into the Apple iCloud interface. That and the impossibility of getting a bunch of favourite icons on the a new tab page. The very best I could do was hit cmd-t for a new page then cmd-shift-c (or whatever the combo was) to show the edge://favorites list. I could just about live with that at a push but if I clicked on one, it opened in a new tab, not the same tab.

Multiple minor frustrations lead to major frustration. It's not for me.

Terminal_Boy · 27 Feb 2023 at 09:23

Chrome for Windows, Safari for iOS/MacOS.

Cromulent · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:16

I ended up switching to Firefox for everything. I find the extensions are much more comprehensive, and having some features like containers is a winning combination. Also, using the same browser on Windows, Mac, Linux, and iOS is great.

I found Edge a bit buggy, especially when it came to updating and syncing between computers and devices. I have kept using Bing, though. I think it is much better than it used to be.

Deleted member 77746 · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:44

Never had a single bug on edge, all plugins work including chrome ones. Websites have always worked as well.

I'll stick with it.

Cromulent · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:50

GaryTheSnail said:
Never had a single bug on edge, all plugins work including chrome ones. Websites have always worked as well.

I'll stick with it.

Fair. I might wait a bit and try again. It was just small things that annoyed me.

Deleted member 77746 · 11 Jul 2023 at 11:54

Cromulent said:
Fair. I might wait a bit and try again. It was just small things that annoyed me.

Everyone got a preference, all good.

Cromulent · 27 Aug 2023 at 12:59

Came back to this thread because I've tried all the major browsers and have come back to Firefox for macOS, iOS, and iPadOS. It is by far my favourite browser. I always have the other browsers installed so I can test my websites on them but I'm sticking with Firefox from now on.