Orion 1.0 – Browse Beyond
52 comments
·November 25, 2025have_faith
zipping1549
Unless it's ungodly slow, to the point where it's beyond being noticeable, speed is the last thing I care about when it comes to browser. Most of the options available are reasonably fast and differences are not huge enough.
esafak
It is. That's why I dropped Firefox.
ivell
Have you tried it out recently? On Mac and Android it is now very good.
It used to be slow for me, but now on the same hardware it is fast enough that I don't see any difference compared to chrome.
freehorse
I have definitely switched in iOS to orion for the support of firefox and chrome extensions. Have not the slightest idea how different browsers in mobile compare in speed. But if it was abysmally slow I would have had seconds thoughts about it probably.
esafak
What's the bug situation? It sucked last I checked, over a year ago.
Is there a way to get a useful visualization like a burndown chart out of their bug tracker? https://orionfeedback.org/
barnabee
I like the direction and keep checking in on it, but while Orion remains closed source there's no chance of it ever being more than a curiosity for me.
z64
(I work at Kagi, but do not work on Orion)
There's a lot of different reasons that people ask for open sourcing of Orion / software in general; could I ask you to expand a bit more as to which issues being open source would address for you?
I can assume of course, but I'd rather listen to you articulate it, even if it's usual reasons.
warkdarrior
Can't speak for OP, but open source allows the community to check for spyware inserted to exfil data to the company and its partners.
throwawa14223
I love everything about Orion except it steals focus when I click a link in e-mail or another application. Does anyone know if there's a way to change the behavior to be like Safari's background link behavior?
filoleg
Is there any info with a bit more details on extensions on the desktop version? More specifically, is Orion going to have its own extension ecosystem? Is it compatible with chrome or FF extensions? If it is gonna be its own thing, are there dev docs available anywhere?
Asking because I’ve read the article, and I noticed extensions being mentioned a few times (including in one of the subchapter titles). However, I couldn’t find any actual info about extensions there.
yannickburky
Orion is compatible with a large number of extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Not all of them work, and yes, we plan to offer documentation for creating extensions that are immediately compatible with Orion.
rwbt
I switched to Orion from Safari a few months ago and so far loving it. I tried Orion a couple of years ago but it wasn't as reliable. Now it seems very stable and the kagi search integration is really nice.
On a side note - I don't know why Apple still doesn't let you set a custom search engine in Safari even today, so random.
darkwater
Downloaded the dmg/installer (not from the App Store), launched it and I get
Update Error!
An error occurred while parsing the update feed.
[ Cancel Update ]
Maybe it's related to PiHole? I'm on MacOS 26.1
yannickburky
Orion Product Manager here – That's what happens when you think of (almost) everything and blow it all at the last minute.
Sorry about that; it's all fixed now, and we really hope everyone will love this browser we've been working on with pure passion for 6 years!
EDIT: not fixed yet EDIT2: fixed! Thanks for your patience
jhickok
I re-downloaded from the link in the blog for macos and reinstalled and I get the same issue.
darkwater
Don't worry, I will hold on :) Thanks for the answer!
dinodev90
We are on it, and this will be fixed in a few minutes.
dinodev90
Orion Tech Lead here: Thank you for your patience — the issue has now been fixed. Please try updating now :)
nguyenkien
> Maybe it's related to PiHole
No. Update server return empty response. That why there are error.
dinodev90
Orion Tech Lead here: Thank you for your patience — the issue has now been fixed. Please try updating now :)
jhickok
Nah I have the same error.
the_gipsy
Isn't every browser on iOS restricted to being a safari/webview shell?
The_Rob
Yes, at least outside of the EU. However, companies don't seem to be developing for it yet, probably due to the investment not being worth it until similar laws are more widespread. However, Orion in also on macOS, which does allow other engines. And Kagi is developing Orion for Linux and Windows.
cpmsmith
Yes, but Orion uses WebKit intentionally on desktop as well, unlike Chrome or Firefox which use their own engines on desktop but WebKit on iOS, so it's a bit different in this case.
thoroughburro
Yes, but that leaves almost everything anyone cares about. Everything except rendering.
segphault
I've attempted to switch to Orion on iOS a few times in the past and could never quite stick with it due to reliability issues. I'm giving it another try now to see if this 1.0 release gets it over that hurdle. Vivaldi is still a lot more polished than Orion on mobile, but Orion's support for Chrome extensions is a pretty compelling feature. I'm a very happy Kagi search user, so I'm rooting for them to succeed here.
yannickburky
We rewrote a large part of the code to make it more reliable and faster. I suggest downloading version 1.4, which just came out, to see for yourself (even if a few fixes related to Liquid Glass still need to be fixed ... by Apple). https://apps.apple.com/us/app/orion-browser-by-kagi/id148449...
SoftTalker
I see this sentiment expressed often here, but I have never experienced a single issue using Orion on iOS. I've been using it for 3-4 months now. With uBlock Origin it actually makes it possible to use the web on iOS.
thoroughburro
It doesn’t lose the tabs at the end of the tab list, for you? Tabs just disappearing after being opened is a daily issue, for me.
SoftTalker
I never have more than a few tabs open, so I don't see that.
oa335
I’m using it now, feels so much snappier on my 10 year old iPhone than the previous version on Orion.
bobbylarrybobby
I'd love to use Orion but it's just too buggy for me. I downloaded the iOS app to try it out and immediately noticed that when typing in the URL bar, three quarters of it is covered by the toolbar above the keyboard.
timenotwasted
I was curious but unfortunately can't get it to launch
> Most people switch browsers for one reason: speed.
Is that true? Maybe it is and I'm out of the loop but I can't remember the last time someone complained about browser speed. The bottleneck seems to be website bloat more than anything else. Would love to see this argument quantified.