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Samsung's Android Browser Hits 1 Billion Downloads, More Than Firefox and Opera Combined (androidpolice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the for-those-keeping-the-count dept.

An anonymous reader shares a report: Samsung's mobile internet browser, if you ask its users, is pretty great. A lot of folks even say it's better than Chrome. That appreciation has manifested in the app hitting a very exclusive Play Store milestone: Samsung Internet Browser now has more than one billion installs. That impressive figure puts the browser's install base ahead of those of Firefox and Opera combined. Now, there are a couple of caveats here: for one, Samsung's browser comes pre-loaded on Samsung devices, of which each activation counts as an "install." What's more, both Firefox's and Opera's Play Store listings report that each browser has "100,000,000+" installs, which, because of the somewhat silly way figures are reported on Android's app marketplace, means their combined installs total anywhere between 200 million and 999,999,998. Still, though, Samsung's browser is on more devices than the both of 'em.

50 of 87 comments (clear)

  1. Would this be for any other reason... by Type44Q · · Score: 2
    Would this be for any other reason than the fact that the world is littered with cheap Samsung phones??

    I rather think not.

    1. Re:Would this be for any other reason... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Pre-installed software has more installs than software that you have to download and install?

      Duh. No mention of how many Samsung users actually use it, vs Firefox or Chrome.

    2. Re:Would this be for any other reason... by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      Well, that and it lets you install an ad blocker.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    3. Re:Would this be for any other reason... by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      That would still count as an install if any activation counts. You can disable it.

    4. Re:Would this be for any other reason... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I think not also. I haven't seen Samsung phones cheap anywhere. Maybe they are in Korea. Since you didn't offer an explanation, I can - the browser is fast and simple and renders well and importantly allows for installation of several high quality third party ad blockers very easily. Samsung doesn't typically do software well, but they got this right.

    5. Re:Would this be for any other reason... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Would this be for any other reason than the fact that the world is littered with cheap Samsung phones??

      I rather think not.

      Yes, and? It should be a wake up call to both Mozilla and Opera to show that making a good browser is not enough.

    6. Re: Would this be for any other reason... by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      Yeah, by that logic they clearly need to bundle their free browsers with cell phones.

    7. Re: Would this be for any other reason... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Yeah, by that logic they clearly need to bundle their free browsers with cell phones.

      Yes. That's exactly what I was saying.

  2. Usage by Luthair · · Score: 1

    I wonder how many people actually use the Samsung browser instead of Chrome which is likely also on many of those devices. One would imagine folks downloading Firefox or Opera actually used it at least once.

    1. Re: Usage by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The Chrome EULA requires that the user consent to (the exact phrase eludes me) a series of high frequency sounds which will cause painful headaches and eat away at your brain, so I would guess a lot of people download it but never run it for that reason

    2. Re:Usage by Vlad_the_Inhaler · · Score: 1

      Websites tend to keep statistics on the browsers being used to access them, I'm too busy to look but feel safe in assuming that this particular browser is not exactly dominating those counts.

      --
      Mielipiteet omiani - Opinions personal, facts suspect.
    3. Re: Usage by tysonedwards · · Score: 1

      I could not root my Galaxy S8+. Chrome does not let you use an ad blocker on mobile without rooting. Samsung's browser does. So, there I was not using Chrome simply because I wanted to actually read websites without half the screen being rendered useless. If I could get an ad blocker in chrome, I would switch back so my bookmarks and history can be synced between my phone and my computer.

      --
      Thirty four characters live here.
    4. Re: Usage by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

      I use this

      https://f-droid.org/en/package...

      Works great on apps and all my browsers

    5. Re:Usage by _merlin · · Score: 1

      I use Samsung's browser on my phone and I have Chrome disabled (can't uninstall it unfortunately), and I've never signed in to Google on my phone. How many more people like me are there who don't count in statistics, but actually use the Samsung browser?

  3. Samsung pre-installations counts .... by JasterBobaMereel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I have this installed, as I have a Samsung phone - number of times I have used it ... once ...

    --
    Puteulanus fenestra mortis
    1. Re:Samsung pre-installations counts .... by JackieBrown · · Score: 1

      Firefox does.

      I use blokada which covers all apps and browsers (maybe not the browsers that "compress" the web pages before sending them to.)

    2. Re:Samsung pre-installations counts .... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      I have this installed, as I have a Samsung phone - number of times I have used it ... once ...

      Congrats. On the flip side I use it daily. It's a browser, it has an ad blocker, and it works.

      That hits the trifector in things I'm looking for in a browser. The fact that it's a default means I don't need to play with others. Mind you I did play with others. Chrome is unusable on a mobile device thanks to no adblockers so it failed on the second account and Firefox ... well it can't even render text at a readable size on a standard content zoom on my device so it failed on the last account.

    3. Re:Samsung pre-installations counts .... by Rob+Y. · · Score: 1

      Me too. It works pretty well, and even has a dark mode. So I use it as my default browser.

      But I am concerned about having yet another entity tracking my web browsing activity. I figure Google already does it one way or another. But is this Samsung browser tracking me at Samsung too? I assume it is - just because everybody seems to track everything they possibly can. But seriously, why would Samsung want this info - they're not in, and not planning to get into the online advertising business. That makes me think that their tracking might be worse than Google's, in that they would have no way to monetize my info but to sell it directly. Anybody know anything about Samsung and data privacy?

      --
      Posted from my Android phone. Oh, I can change this? There, that's better...
    4. Re:Samsung pre-installations counts .... by nagora · · Score: 1

      Slacker! I've used mine twice. The second time was by mistake, though...

      --
      "Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
    5. Re:Samsung pre-installations counts .... by Cederic · · Score: 1

      It's not just that (essential) trifecta. It's also actually sensible designed too.

      No stupid 'new tab' splash pages. Night mode. Privacy mode that's obvious and easy to access.

      Best of all, I wrote to them asking if they could add an option for 'Open in new tab' to open as a background tab rather than replacing the current one and the next patch added a new sub-menu option to 'Open in background tab' so that you can do either.

      That makes it more usable and nice to use than the others, in addition to the trifecta.

  4. Impossible to uninstall or even disable by guacamole · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The world's largest Android OEM installs its web browser, which is impossible to uninstall or even disable, on every device sold. If anything, this is just a testament to how much Samsung Android devices are out there.

    1. Re:Impossible to uninstall or even disable by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      The fact that it is usable and has an adblocker is to their credit as well. I've tried a few different browsers, but quite unlike IE I went back to the default installed on my device. Chrome is unusable due to adverts, and Firefox well after trying it over and over again and finding bugs that made it difficult to read (wrong zooms to content, stupid choices of font size, etc) I just gave up.

  5. Waterfox for Android by ArhcAngel · · Score: 4, Informative

    I prefer Waterfox since it allows me to use the same add-ons I use on the desktop. I tried the Samsung browser when I had a Samsung device and it was meh. I'm sure it being pre-installed on all Samsung devices is skewing its actual "user" base.

    --
    "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    1. Re:Waterfox for Android by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Brave for ANDdroid it's OK.

      It's OK, but it won't e.g. block the advertisements that Slashdot puts on the home page even when you have the "Disable Advertisements" box checked.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  6. Just like Internet Explorer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Just because it's installed doesn't mean its actually used.

  7. "install" is still a verb. by mr_mischief · · Score: 4, Informative

    The word "install" is a verb. The noun is "installation". You install something. The something in a state of having been installed is an installation.

    You invite someone with an invitation. A judge passes judgment. Someone passing judgment when one shouldn't is being judgmental.

    News for nerds, parts of speech that matter.

    1. Re:"install" is still a verb. by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      The day I want to hear what your faggot-ass butt-fucking self thinks about any of this, I'll ask.

      Until then, stick to sucking dicks and leave the grammar to people who know [it's hard to correct this part since I'm not sure if you intended to put a full stop (incorrect) or had an aneurysm and couldn't finish the sentence.]

      Corrected your poor grammar. Have a nice day.

    2. Re:"install" is still a verb. by rtb61 · · Score: 2

      Mate, language what was, was and what is, is and install reflects change in use of nomenclature. A digital install, is the accepted terminology and has been so for quite some time, you need to get your head out last millenniums English and catch up with what ever it is today in which locale it is. Funnily enough a digital install, is never ending and needs to be continually updated, debugged, maintained, you never actually finish installing it but most continue to do so, until you finally replace it. Geeks no longer bite the heads of chickens just anal retentive nerds (both terms were exceedingly derogatory, we changed it, actively purposefully changed it).

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
  8. Disingenuous by ilsaloving · · Score: 1

    If an application is forcibly preinstalled, it shouldn't count towards the Play Store's install count. It's completely disingenuous, and implies far greater interest than there actually is.

    Yeah yeah I know. Apparently I'm new here.

  9. I was using it on my phone by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    usually to check repair times from my electrical supplier during outages.

    The only thing it had going for it was it used less of my battery than chrome or ff at a time I needed to check 3 or 4 times an hour...

    Then I was notified about an update to the app which required so many permissions my head almost exploded.

    1. Re:I was using it on my phone by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Then I was notified about an update to the app which required so many permissions my head almost exploded.

      Browsers need all those permissions in order to do all the things they normally do these days, so that's true of almost any browser. On the other hand, you can often turn a lot of those perms off after install and as long as you don't use those features, the browser still works fine. If a browser crashes (or bitches) on run when you take away things like the ability to see your contacts, uninstall or disable it immediately.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  10. It doesn't count by roc97007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Installing a browser by default on a popular platform, and then claiming it's the most installed browser, is a tad disingenuous. It's like Microsoft claiming that IE was the most installed browser on PCs, even if a great number of people only ever used it to download Firefox or Chrome.

    I have a Note 9 that came with Samsung's browser, which almost certainly counts as an install, even though I use the Adblock browser exclusively.

    So really, it's all market-speak. Nothing to see here.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:It doesn't count by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Disingenuous it may be, but to ignore it is to commit a fatal error of understanding how users interact with software. If anything this should be a clear indication to the likes of Firefox and Opera that in this day and age it is no longer sufficient to produce good software. You have to be in control of the default user experience.

    2. Re:It doesn't count by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Disingenuous it may be, but to ignore it is to commit a fatal error of understanding how users interact with software. If anything this should be a clear indication to the likes of Firefox and Opera that in this day and age it is no longer sufficient to produce good software. You have to be in control of the default user experience.

      There might be some truth to that. On the other hand, users have been trained for decades by Microsoft to automatically install an alternate browser on the platform they use frequently. I have absolutely nothing to base this on except gut, but I suspect that this phenomenon carries over to phones and tablets as well. [1]

      However, you do bring up a good point, and Firefox and Opera need to continue to behave like the underdogs they are, and promote their products aggressively. A really good argument might be, if you ever move to Motorola, or HTC or some other platform, Opera will move with you, whereas the Samsung browser won't.

      [1]. Except in Apple world, of course, where the installed base wouldn't think of using alternatives to what came with the device. Because. Apple.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    3. Re:It doesn't count by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      users have been trained for decades by Microsoft to automatically install an alternate browser on the platform they use frequently.

      Actually users have been trained by decades of "Switch to Chrome, a smarter browser for a better experience" popups every time they search for something. There's no such jarring marketing on mobile platforms.

      It's worth remembering that users didn't make a choice to dump IE. They were told to, by friends, by websites they visit, by the sheer frustration of the slow piece of shit that was IE.

      Incidentally this is also why I used a variety of browsers in the early Android days. The included browsers were garbage. Around about the Galaxy S4-5 days is when the default Samsung browser became usable.

  11. Re:What? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

    > I find that, despite making great hardware, all of the Samsung apps blow chunks!

    Yes. It's fortunate that Samsung has very helpfully put all their apps in their own "Samsung" folder, so you can avoid running one of them by accident.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  12. Can you remove it from a Samsung phone? by mschaffer · · Score: 2

    How many people not using Samsung phones have installed this? That would be a far more interesting number.

  13. Required for Samsung account by marcobi · · Score: 1

    Even if not installed, Samsung apps require it for Samsung account access, no way to make it work with chrome

    1. Re:Required for Samsung account by crow · · Score: 2

      The only reason I created a Samsung account was because it's required to get into the Bixby settings where I can disable the button. After doing that, I was able to delete the account from the phone. I've also gone in and removed all permissions from unwanted apps that it won't let me disable or uninstall. My Samsung calendar doesn't have access to my calendar anymore.

  14. samsung has good developers, but... by FudRucker · · Score: 1

    their software wants to overshadow most of android, and that bixby thing kept getting in the way, and on my phone case i took an exacto knife and trimmed the inside of the bixby button so that button wont work anymore and i had to finally sign my phone out of my samsung account, then disable and uninstall as much of samsung's software as possible in order to tame it and make my phone more like a pure android, but there are a few samsung apps that wont go away, i like samsung's hardware, just not a big fan of their software but some of it is okay if it will stay out of my way when i want android software, my next phone is going to have to be something that offers a pure android software environment, or if somebody ever builds a FOSS Linux smartphone that would be even better but i have not even seen one anywhere

    --
    Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
    1. Re:samsung has good developers, but... by FudRucker · · Score: 1

      the bixby mod was just trimming the inside of the phone case, (not the phone itself) when you buy a phone case, mine is a Unicorn Beetle there are buttons on the case so you can access the buttons on the phone, i trimmed the inside of the phone case, it is just a rubber thing that touches the bixby button , the button is still there but it wont do anything because i disabled the button on the phone case, https://www.amazon.com/Samsung...

      --
      Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
  15. installed by whom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    software baked into the OS by the OEM is not "installed"

  16. It's clearly a fake by aglider · · Score: 1

    Isn't it?

    --
    Sent as ripples into the electromagnetic field. No single photon has been harmed in the process.
  17. I wonder... by emil · · Score: 1

    ...if it still counts if you uninstall updates, then disable it.

    I really love Lineage + MicroG - no avalanche of updating apps. It's quite a bit of work to shut them down on most stock ROMs.

  18. Multiple browsers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I install multiple browsers on my devices, because some let me do things that others can't (such as being able to bypass javascript malware that denies me access to the right click/long tap function without having to disable Javascript). At least one of those browsers have the ability for me to change the User-Agent string, to be able to download stuff to Android which would otherwise be denied*, or get a page that is not gimped^Woptimised for mobile.

    *and I really hate those kind of sites; "Oh you smelly Android user, how dare you allow your filthy system to even look at our precious website! Be glad we don't try to force a malicious APK down your filthy throat". Sourceforge is very guilty of this kind of behavior. The web should NEVER be balkanized.

  19. meh, doesn't matter that much to me... by mr.dreadful · · Score: 1

    according to my web traffic reports, which says that out of 2.4 million page views, that browser came in at less then .05% of my overall traffic. Meh.

  20. i like kiwi by JackSpratts · · Score: 1

    been using it for the better part of a year. very happy with it.

    - js.

  21. its OK by jemmyw · · Score: 1

    It is better than chrome. Choice of adblocker. better privacy mode. better tab management. I use Firefox, but Samsung is actually a good choice.

  22. Re: "Install" has been nouned by mr_mischief · · Score: 1

    Funny how that was edited after I posted, isn't it? Also, note that it says it's an alternative for informal usage. That means maybe it's alright in the discussion threads, but the article and summary should use the original word.

  23. Just another WebKit browser? by kriston · · Score: 1

    Just another WebKit browser? Sigh.

    I would have accepted the idea that it can't be uninstalled or disabled, has upsell notifications and suggestions, if it were anything but yet another WebKit browser.

    --

    Kriston