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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.

11 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.

  2. 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
  3. 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.

  4. 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
  5. "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 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
  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Re: Usage by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

    I use this

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

    Works great on apps and all my browsers