That’s not right. There are plenty of simple design decisions that can be taken to ensure a browser is not yet another Chrome clone:
- have a dedicated search bar, like a proper browser
- don’t have the tabs on the title bar
- use the title bar for something else other than tabs
- have a status bar like a proper browser
- have colorful buttons (or at least buttons that aren’t simple black lines on a light gray backdrop)
And this is off the top of my head. I’m sure not everyone would like a browser with all these design decisions, but not everyone likes chrome and its clones either. I, for one, keep my Firefox as proper as possible. Tabs are not in the title bar, buttons are useful, there’s a status bar, etc, etc.