Safari vs Dawn
Safari is the browser built into Apple’s devices, known for battery life, privacy features, and syncing through iCloud.
| Feature | Safari |  Dawn |
|---|---|---|
| Tabs in a sidebar | No, tabs along the top | Yes |
| Spaces for each project | Partly: Tab Groups | Yes, each with its own theme |
| Profiles for separate logins | Yes | Yes, with spaces inside each |
| Split view | No | Yes, up to four pages |
| Tabs that put themselves away | Yes, optional: after a day, week, or month | Yes, after 12 hours (you choose) |
| Chrome Web Store extensions | No, App Store extensions | Yes |
| Imports from Arc | No | Yes: spaces, pinned tabs, folders, and favorites |
| Imports from other browsers | Chrome and Firefox, or a bookmarks file | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Brave, Opera, Dia, and Zen, or Safari’s bookmarks file |
| Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify (DRM) | Yes, with Netflix in 4K | Yes |
| Built-in AI | Apple Intelligence can sort tabs | None |
| Platforms | Mac, iPhone, iPad | Mac |
| Price | Free | Free |
What’s different
Tabs in a sidebar
Safari keeps tabs along the top. Dawn puts them in a sidebar, with pinned folders and folders inside folders.
Chrome extensions
Dawn installs extensions from the Chrome Web Store, where most of them live. Safari uses its own, from the App Store.
Split view
Dawn shows up to four pages side by side in one window.
Where Safari wins
It’s already on your Mac, syncs with your iPhone and iPad through iCloud, and is easy on the battery.
Switching from Safari?
Dawn brings over your bookmarks from an exported file.
Switch me from Safari to Dawn and bring my tabs along. Here’s how: https://dawn.example/llms.txt
Safari and Dawn: questions
Why export a file from Safari?
macOS keeps Safari’s bookmarks private to apps you’ve given Full Disk Access, so Dawn asks for an exported bookmarks file instead.
Sources: Netflix: supported browsers, Safari: Tab Groups, Safari: profiles, Safari: closing tabs automatically, Safari: import bookmarks. Checked October 2026.