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June 9th, 2009

Safari 4 - "The world's fastest browser" ... NOT!

Posted by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes @ 3:40 am

Categories: On the test bench, Software

Tags: Apple Safari, Web Browser, Google Chrome, Web Browsers, Internet, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

At yesterday’s WWDC 09 keynote speech Apple announced the release of Safari 4 web browser for Windows and Mac. Apple claims this browser is “the world’s fastest browser” … let’s find out.

I’m always suspicious of all claims that are along the lines of “world’s blankiest blank,” especially when those claims come from Apple.

So, is Safari 4 the fastest browser? Let’s test out Apple’s claim by pitting it against Google Chrome.

I’m using my standard test bed - QX9770 Core 2 Extreme running at 3.2GHz, with 2GB or RAM on a fully up-to-date Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit platform.

I’m putting Safari 4 against Google Chrome because that’s currently the fastest browser on the block. If Safari 4 can beat that, it earns the title of “world’s fastest browser.” If it can’t beat Chrome, then the claim is puff.

As usual, two tests - SunSpider JavaScript, and V8 benchmarks.

The results –>

Pages: 1 2 3

Adrian Kingsley-HughesAdrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations

Want to get in touch? Got a tip? Feel free to drop me a note! I ALWAYS respect anonymity. I'm also on Twitter (@the_pc_doc)

Right to Reply: Should any industry representatives wish to comment on any posts on Hardware 2.0, I will be happy to publish their reply verbatim on this blog.

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  • Talkback
  • Most Recent of 159 Talkback(s)
Sanity? You're on the wrong board! (NT)
NT (Read the rest)
Posted by: Yax_to_the_Max Posted on: 07/17/09 You are currently: a Guest | | Terms of Use
Your text and pictures don't match.  Bruizer | 06/09/09
To clarify, are shorter bars better?  KeeBaud | 06/09/09
It does say next to the graphs...  DevJonny | 06/09/09
AKH updated the figures. -nt-  Bruizer | 06/09/09
Graphs and numbers? What's it all mean?!  JABBER_WOLF | 06/09/09
And the Prophet quoth  Graham Ellison | 06/09/09
Apple users drink beer?  LiquidLearner | 06/09/09
Oh the poetry of it  wjanoch | 06/09/09
RTFA  Sleeper Service | 06/10/09
Apple's reputation...  Wolfie2K3 | 06/10/09
Why Would Apple Lie???  djalan | 06/10/09
And Apple did this?  p0figster | 06/10/09
I concur!  Appreciate-Tech | 06/19/09
Sanity? You're on the wrong board! (NT)  Yax_to_the_Max | 07/17/09
If they could read numbers  mjolnar@... | 06/10/09
BluRay  Jkirk3279 | 06/11/09
Spurious reporting by a Mac hack!  Appreciate-Tech | 06/10/09
Get a Life!!!!  adamshw@... | 06/10/09
re: Get a Life!!!!  Kaptah | 06/15/09
you CAN run OSX on a PC but WHY??  djalan | 06/10/09
because it's better?  exolon | 06/11/09
Hmmm...  D2 Ultima | 06/11/09
o_O  goff256 | 07/14/09
"If you had really "done it on several boxes" you would know that."  shadfurman | 06/11/09
PhD?  callandor87 | 06/10/09
I agree but...  shadfurman | 06/11/09
"WINDOWS XP and VISTA cannot run Mac OS X"  shadfurman | 06/11/09
"Spurious reporting by a Mac hack! "  Kaptah | 06/15/09
Why V8?  mlindl | 06/09/09
Why yes!  Sleeper Service | 06/09/09
As a (dis)believer  goff256 | 07/14/09
So a Microsoft funded study  GuidingLight | 06/09/09
Apple didn't use a Wintel machine  mlindl | 06/09/09
Maybe you should get an iMac to run Windows on  James T. Kirk | 06/09/09
Then their claim is false...  GoodThings2Life | 06/09/09
why don't you try it yourself and see? ..take 2mins max  doctorSpoc | 06/09/09
Here is what I got  NonZealot | 06/09/09
I've been forced to concur about IE 8 being a dog.  deowll | 06/09/09
Unless you're on XP and short on memory  LiquidLearner | 06/09/09
To put that in perspective:  Joel R | 06/17/09
Here is what I Got.  xXSpeedzXx | 06/09/09
So your assumption is?  BElias73 | 06/09/09
Let me see if I understand.  deowll | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 - Apple used iBench  mjlaverty@... | 06/09/09
they used ibench AND sunspider... nt  doctorSpoc | 06/09/09
Again: Flawed benchmarks  nilotpal_c | 06/09/09
I agree ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 06/09/09
Point taken  nilotpal_c | 06/09/09
Ever tried disabling JavaScript entirely?  GoodThings2Life | 06/09/09
So rendering a page is less important?  Mikael_z | 06/09/09
Just tried it.  msalzberg | 06/09/09
If you heavily rely on Google's apps  LiquidLearner | 06/09/09
Since I don't use Google apps...  msalzberg | 06/10/09
actually, here, it's pointless  Mitch 74 | 06/12/09
The claim's been on Apple's site since Safari 3 for Windows was released  eMJayy | 06/09/09
Apple seems to believe Microsoft is only other SW company  NonZealot | 06/09/09
History of hate.  justrhysism | 06/09/09
Don't fight the underdog  wjanoch | 06/09/09
Where's that patch at?  UAC nanny screen | 06/10/09
Most ANY 32-bit OS would have that limit.  Joel R | 06/17/09
JavaScript only?  Jeremy-UK | 06/09/09
have other actually tested... i got Chrome winning V8 and Safari Sunspider.  doctorSpoc | 06/09/09
i guess since this is the benchmark that Apple actually used...  doctorSpoc | 06/09/09
Anyone who's not Apple fan here?  mitzampt@... | 06/09/09
i just did.. using V8 Chrome won, using sunspider Safari won...  doctorSpoc | 06/09/09
Which is the fastest mobile browser?  NonZealot | 06/09/09
The only problem there...  Stuka | 06/09/09
Fair point  NonZealot | 06/09/09
Good luck with that...  techconc | 06/09/09
Another fair point  NonZealot | 06/09/09
That depends...  deowll | 06/09/09
Drool...  LiquidLearner | 06/09/09
Actually, about Opera  nilotpal_c | 06/09/09
Depends on what you're doing...  techconc | 06/09/09
Actually, every browser has at least one component it is weak in  nilotpal_c | 06/09/09
The thing about testing is,  xXSpeedzXx | 06/09/09
Add ACID3 testing to that category  NonZealot | 06/09/09
...so said the loser..  techconc | 06/09/09
The loser?  NonZealot | 06/09/09
Safari and Chrome use the same browser engine.  B.O.F.H. | 06/09/09
Also Threading...  WarhavenSC | 06/09/09
So is Safari 4 the world's fastest browser?  NonZealot | 06/09/09
probably you were using a wrong platform...  shogundaimyo | 06/09/09
It's always best to check things out for yourself...  msalzberg | 06/09/09
Good point but you are wrong  NonZealot | 06/09/09
But think about that for a moment...  xXSpeedzXx | 06/09/09
Grand Central?  Synthmeister | 06/09/09
Apple's testing done on Windows and Mac both  aj.redmond@... | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  Vesicant | 06/09/09
What about security?  dvm | 06/09/09
2 word answer  NonZealot | 06/09/09
Actually, one of the most important points about protected mode is  nilotpal_c | 06/09/09
i have a minor problem  mitzampt@... | 06/09/09
Why bother unless you just want to have fun?  deowll | 06/09/09
Who really cares?  jscott418 | 06/09/09
The Average end user  xXSpeedzXx | 06/09/09
Flawed  EmperorDarius | 06/09/09
I see...  Sleeper Service | 06/09/09
RE: I see...  EmperorDarius | 06/10/09
The world's best OS?  Sleeper Service | 06/10/09
Yes, the world's best OS  EmperorDarius | 06/10/09
Premature conclusions  mkp09 | 06/09/09
The Real Loser...IE, The Real Winner WebKit  denyar2 | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  fixmedoc | 06/09/09
on apple's site  xXSpeedzXx | 06/09/09
Chrome != privacy  EmperorDarius | 06/10/09
Safari is the worst supported too...  Narg | 06/09/09
Why did Apple use an older version of Chrome?  Ed BurnetteZDNet Moderator | 06/09/09
... and a discontinued benchmark?  Ed BurnetteZDNet Moderator | 06/09/09
My car is fast too. but is it safe? My car is. but how about the browser?  Been_Done_Before | 06/09/09
Chrome faster? That's odd! (and IE The slowest browser on Earth)  Mikael_z | 06/09/09
Safari beats Chrome on my PC, barely, with SunSpider  Ed BurnetteZDNet Moderator | 06/09/09
Safari on top using the FutureMark Peacekeeper benchmark too  Ed BurnetteZDNet Moderator | 06/09/09
So what does this tell us?  NonZealot | 06/09/09
Apple has no shame  GuidingLight | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  XArt | 06/09/09
Well,...  tahaa7 | 06/09/09
Real headline IE PATHETICALLY SLOW while both Safari & Chrome every fast-NT  raycote | 06/09/09
with Firefox  xXSpeedzXx | 06/09/09
and both are based on an open source engine.  deowll | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  ninexpoundhammer | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  Thom d | 06/09/09
A simple misunderstanding  Rambo Tribble | 06/09/09
Who here is not "Type A"  Narg | 06/09/09
What would make a browser faster anyways?  BALTHOR | 06/09/09
Are you a computer program?  NonZealot | 06/09/09
Adrian, I suspect the discrepancy between the test results  mhenriday | 06/09/09
You do realize it's marketing, right?  MacKeyser | 06/09/09
We folks with some moral fibre call it 'lying'. happy  Sleeper Service | 06/10/09
Moral fibre?  MacKeyser | 06/10/09
firefox and google chrome  jadjkorn64 | 06/09/09
ZD reputable reviews... NOT!  JoeBob_z | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  rontaube | 06/09/09
RE: Safari 4 -  shellcodes_coder | 06/09/09
Also  Alan Burns | 06/09/09
My own benchmarks on my own hardware.  roystonlodge | 06/09/09
Ha Ha Google & Apple Webkit WINNING! Free Publicity. happy  Davewrite | 06/09/09
Try OS X  rhon@... | 06/09/09
And that would prove Safari for Windows sucks  cgarrett | 06/10/09
been there done that  kaninelupus | 06/16/09
RE: Safari 4 -  chelless@... | 06/09/09
Not the right comparison?  lais.alex@... | 06/10/09
RE: Safari 4 -  gennx30 | 06/10/09
Wanna loosen that foil hat ...  Adrian Kingsley-HughesZDNet Moderator | 06/10/09
RE: Safari 4 -  paul@... | 06/10/09
RE: Safari 4 -  billgatesson | 06/10/09
Well, Safari 4 does have the World's Shortiest Skirt (NT)  TrPrince | 06/10/09
Safari Mac vs. Safari Windows: On the same hardware  cgarrett | 06/10/09
It doesnt matter!  True Patriot | 06/10/09
RE: Safari 4 -  j_richter50@... | 06/10/09
RE: Different test  558742 | 06/10/09
RE: Safari 4 -  picpocbalanel@... | 06/10/09
RE: Safari 4  Naryan | 06/10/09
You're sooo smart  EmperorDarius | 06/11/09
exagerated! :P  seaniepie | 06/16/09
RE: Safari 4 -  Try2Ketchup | 06/12/09
Safari4 crashes  seaniepie | 06/16/09
RE: speaks for itself  cricket2 | 06/17/09
Any SunSpider "specs" are completely unreliable at best...  kaninelupus | 07/02/09

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