Looking for different Browsers that work in my High Sierra running MacBook Air

John Galt wrote:

Brave and Firefox both work fine on my similar and equally old model MBA, although Brave announced recently that whatever version they have now will be the last one for High Sierra. Firefox may not be far behind.

The current version of Firefox does not run on High Sierra. There is a Firefox 115 ESR will run on High Sierra. It isn't getting new features, but will get "critical security updates" until September 2024.

https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/firefox-users-macos-1012-1013-1014-moving-to-extended-support

Brave and Firefox both work fine on my similar and equally old model MBA, although Brave announced recently that whatever version they have now will be the last one for High Sierra. Firefox may not be far behind.

The most likely reason your Mac doesn't work is Google. Uninstall it completely. It's a resource hog on any Mac, but its constant information-harvesting, -uploading, and automatically updating activity will drag older ones to their knees. Follow Google's instructions.

So-called "news" sites are the worst. They are full of performance-demanding advertisements and trackers. If you liked Chrome, Brave should be familiar enough to you, and it automatically blocks most advertisements while having the least effect on legitimate content.

This is not something Apple has any control over. Your 12 or 13 year old MacBook Air remains 100% capable of everything it ever did when it was new. More than that actually, since Apple continued to provide software updates for it for six or seven years. Even that is nothing new since that's about as long as Apple has provided support for any of their products, all the way back to 1984 or so.

So what changed? Websites, primarily, and email services that require protocols that were not envisioned back then. In other words if the rest of the world stood still and never updated their websites to host ever-increasing amounts of information-harvesting targeted advertising, then you would have no reason to ask if there are newer browser versions capable of keeping up with those demands. And as I wrote, you don't have to play that game. As I wrote "news" sites are particularly horrible, and I'm not talking just about their ineptitude at actually being sources of information. Nearly as bad are social media websites, followed by banking sites, and the list goes on and on.

The reason for that sorry state of affairs is almost exclusively economic. Website developers are paid for their ability to convince otherwise clueless marketing types and managers of their cleverness. Eye-catching graphics and animations get them bonuses, pay for their expensive toys, and expand their businesses. Those developers use high-end workstations that run rings around consumer desktop machines. Their interest in your old Mac and even most newer ones is practically nil because you are not their customer. You're a nobody. They're already at work developing for hardware that isn't even available to us yet. So it should come as no surprise to you that the rest of us are left in the dust.

Ask yourself what you expected of your Mac way back in 2010 or 2011. Whatever that was, it still does it, but websites and services will always demand more. It's an insatiable beast that will never be satisfied.

By the way, the iPhone 4 was the latest thing when your Mac was new, and they're essentially useless today. Carriers won't support them. 64 bit apps won't work at all. Keep that in mind when characterizing your MBA as "almost useless".

Browsers by Mac operating system

Scroll down to High Sierra

Some of those listed you already have and some you do not use

Welcome

A computer that can only run as high as High Sierra release in 2017 may still run fine.

Though, as you have implied , the computer is not living up to your expectations

I too had an ancient machine , Mac Mini from 2011 .

Did my best to extend its life usage by flipping out the Fusion Drive for a fast SSD Drive and Doubled the RAM from 4 GB to 8 GB

There came an " awakening " one day.

My needs, not wants, had long ago out stripped the abilities of this machine and were not keeping up with the Technology advancements in 2023 almost 2024

Like any computer, there comes a time when reality sneaks in.

That machine was to donated to a Charity.

If your requirements ( needs ) are met continue using the machine.

If they are not - consider your options carefully

What I really hate is that a perfectly good, older laptop, for which there is no replacement (no more 11" models), is rendered almost useless. I bought this thing years ago and have treated it well, and deserve better from Apple. It's like you're leasing your computer instead of really owning it. Grrrrr.

If High Sierra is the end of the line for that 11" MacBook Air, that implies that it is a Late 2010 or Mid 2011 model that came with some version of Snow Leopard or Lion. Which means that Apple supported it with 6 to 7 major upgrades to Mac OS X / macOS, all of the ones after Mountain Lion being free.