On a somewhat funny, somewhat related note:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Explorer_for_UNIX

It doesn't disprove your point, it's just a cute bit of trivia.

The reason IE was hated for being tied in the OS was because the OS was crashing due to the IE bugs. That's not the case with macOS or iOS at all, just because the OS provides a JS engine out of the box doesn't make it Windows Me grade.

> because the OS was crashing due to the IE bugs. That's not the case with macOS or iOS at all

I mean, I've had iOS crash while using safari more often than I had windows 98 crash while using IE.

At least back in the IE days, when a user found a site they couldn't open in IE, they could go download firefox.

When a user encounters a websites that doesn't work on iOS safari, they can't download a different browser.

Even worse, when you report the bug to the site owner (say your friend), they'll then say "Oh, sorry, I don't own an iPhone or macbook, so I'd have to pay $800+ to reproduce your bug", while with IE, it ran on basically any computer, and I think windows back then still had a trial version you could use for free.

I disagree. It made it, so people with an older OS could not get a current IE. So you had ancient IE version linger for years and years.

And with Safari, I can’t test any specific issues because we only have one mac, and it’s old and can’t run a current Safari. The situation is slightly better than with IE, as multiple macOS versions apparently (or so I was told) can run a newer Safari, but still not all.

If you downvote me, please tell me why my comment is wrong. Otherwise, no one learns anything.

IE was hated for being unreliable, lax on security and lacking in modern features. Safari / WebKit is incredibly performant and reliable with a modern feature set. Personally I’m not a fan of the UI but I guess it gets the job done.

I said "also hated", as in "in addition".

Ah, my apologies, I must’ve misread.