Comparative review of Android browsers

Hi, Habr. We have prepared for you a comparative review of 10 browsers for Android, evaluated by functionality, performance, design. It is worth noting that mobile browsers are much more than ten. There are too many of them to make a full Top 2014 on the scale of one publication. Instead of relying solely on popularity (or speed), the short list includes applications that represent the full range of technologies implemented in mobile browsers, including beginners who have not yet gathered a large audience of users (based on The Best Android browsers, 2014 edition: design, features, and performance )

Interface and Design

In the popular tests of mobile browsers for Android, the emphasis is on speed. This was the point when most smartphones could not boast of high performance. Now everything is different, and even the cheapest devices provide enough speed to focus in another direction - on interface design and usability.
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In this area, the creators of browsers are characterized by increased "laziness." We see that mobile browsers rarely change in appearance and, for the most part, are mini-versions of our desktop browsers. All the address bar is located on top, the tabs are located exactly as on the desktop version, the page display area is identical for all applications. This is strange, but of all the browsers tested (even those that did not make the short list of this article), only the Habit Browser address bar ran away from the usual location and was at the bottom of the display. We do not believe that this implementation is perfect, but on an average Android smartphone, the display is now dangerously close to 5-inch sizes, and getting to the top address bar is becoming increasingly difficult.

Chrome


Chrome from Google is familiar to most users, because on many phones the application is installed by default. Chrome's interface is nice to use, but it doesn't stand out at all. The typical approach of Google, which proved to be positive, is that there are no problems with the speed of work and interaction with the interface. Scrolling pages, scaling, everything works quickly and smoothly, no matter how heavy the pages you view (of course, if you have a modern smartphone).

Firefox


To deny the rich experience of Mozilla is impossible. Firefox is one of the most popular browsers for PCs and one of the best browsers for Android. It works quite quickly, supports synchronization of tabs and bookmarks in the mobile version with the desktop version of the browser. Like its PC version has a simplified interface, although not as elegantly light as that of Chrome.

Opera


Opera is the third and last Android browser on this list, which boasts family ties to the “adult” desktop version. Like the competitors above, Opera offers a simplified, albeit slightly outdated, design. Fortunately, following the “old school” means only comfortable work with navigation and excellent speed indicators, even when it comes to working with very “heavy” sites.

Dolphin


This is a completely different league. Before us is one of the oldest mobile browsers available for Android, and from year to year it remains a good alternative to the popular trio. Dolphin boasts a thoughtful design. It remains one of the few browsers that plays with the color of the interface (green is the color of life). It is more versatile than most competitors, but fortunately support for different gestures, integration with social networks, the presence of synchronization not only between different devices, but also between different browsers, do not affect the worse for the speed of its work.

UC Browser


Like Dolphin, UC Browser has a calmer interface. The browser UI is well developed, the interface elements are ergonomically arranged, which makes navigation easier. The speed of the browser is also no complaints.

CM Browser


CM Browser is new to Android, but he already has something to brag about. The application has the most minimalistic interface, but it is implemented with taste. CM Browser can start to use instantly, without wasting time learning the "functionality".

Javelin


This browser seemed to us the most visually attractive. It is simply made beautifully and is perceived a little better than just a tool for work. There are no frills in it, the interface is simple, navigation is easier than easy.

Puffin


Many may wonder why Puffin even appeared on this list, especially given its unattractive design. Indeed, Puffin can be considered the worst browser in our review, it has serious flaws. For example, working with the user interface is accompanied by long hangs even on top devices. The same goes for working with web pages. Scrolling, zooming, working with a panoramic view - all this leaves much to be desired. So what is forgotten in the article "The best Android browsers" this "renegade"? We will tell about it a bit later.

Next Browser


Colorful and at the same time minimalistic interface. You may notice a delay while viewing the image on some pages, not everything is smooth and scrolling, scaling.

Lightning browser


Google's Chrome. The interface is no frills, additional functionality is hidden where you can not immediately find it. As for navigation, the interface is quite simple, it works with small friezes.

Special features

After you got acquainted with the appearance of the browsers presented, you naturally want to learn more about the supported functionality. Some of the browsers (Firefox, UC Browser, Dolphin) support extensions, but it’s just impossible to describe them all at once. In addition, the average user will never use something that does not work immediately on the principle of "established and acting as I need."

So what do we really need from the browser? Synchronization. Unfortunately, not all browsers on our list support this feature. Anonymity. Incognito mode has become a kind of standard, but not all browsers offer it. Finally, data compression is still a fairly interesting feature. We have collected all the popular features and checked how our browsers will handle them.



* Adblocker Dolphin requires JetPack (on Android 4.3-4.4). Flash is supported only through addon.

* Puffin supports flash only 7 days. After that - guess what.

* Firefox supports Flash only when the plugin is installed.

As you can see, UC Browser and Dolphin were the most versatile. On the other hand, Dolphin has a number of other, rather unique features (for example, gesture support).

Performance

Even the most visually attractive browser will not live long on your smartphone, if it does not have a good speed.
Of course, synthetic tests and the real world are not the same thing. Tests do not always paint a representative picture of actual performance. On the other hand, some tests not only measure the speed of work in “parrots”, but also try to imitate the scenarios of real user actions.

Synthetic tests

1. SunSpider
Developed by Apple back in 2007, SunSpider remains part of the standard browser test suite. SunSpider analyzes the ability of the browser to handle JavaScript code.
And here is the only reason Puffin is on the list of the best browsers. Puffin does an excellent job with cloud computing. As for the rest, we are pleased to note the success of newbies who have overtaken even Google's Chrome.



2. Mozilla Kraken
Like SunSpider, Mozilla Kraken tries to measure the performance of browsers with JavaScript. However, this test, so to speak, is more hardcore.
Not surprisingly, Puffin is again at the helm, but Firefox suddenly “merged”, even though the browser was created with Kraken in one company. Dolphin for the second time confidently occupies the last place.



3. Browsermark
This benchmark analyzes the overall performance of browsers (and seeks to make it real).

Again, Puffin is ahead of the competition, Chrome is regaining lost ground, and Dolphin continues to disappoint.

(*the bigger, the better)



4. Peacekeeper
Peacekeeper (created by Finns from Futuremark) is also trying to measure the actual performance of browsers.

Yes, your eyes don't lie, Puffin again shows an amazing result. Firefox unexpectedly lags behind.

(*the bigger, the better)



Peacekeeper can also check browsers for compatibility with the HTML5 standard. Considering that the industry considers HTML5 to be the next logical development step, it is important to understand whether your browser is able to handle the new code.

Firefox shows one of the most decent results (along with UC Browser). The remaining browsers can not be called fully HTML5-compatible.

(*the bigger, the better)

Page load time

We will look at the download speed in two different states - with a new page and previously opened. An important rule: browsers must load the entire contents of the page.

1. "Hot download" (download pages that you have already visited)
Synthetic tests don't lie - Puffin is really king when it comes to loading time for (hot) pages. Chrome, which still opens the page quickly, still lags behind.

Unfortunately, Firefox and Dolphin (Opera too) lag far behind the leaders.



2. "Hot download" (mobile version of the site)



3. "Cold boot"

How well does your browser handle the pages you are visiting for the first time?

Wow, Puffin for the first time lost the title of the "fastest." However, it was an isolated case and on other pages this strange browser returned to itself a palm.
As for the rest, we see fairly similar results, although Firefox and Javelin work worse. Dolphin finally managed to emerge from the bottom, and take the place of the middle peasant. CM Browser showed a very good result, and Chrome deservedly won all of them.



4. “Cold Download” (mobile version of the site)

Memory consumption

In the last test, we tested how our browsers handle memory usage. Most modern smartphones have at least 1 GB of RAM, but still many people use other phones, in which, for example, 512 megabytes. For these devices, “eating up” memory is the last thing they need.



(* in megabytes; the smaller the better)
As you can see, with the exception of Firefox, Puffin, Chrome, and Opera, the rest showed similar results with Lightning Browser, which turned out to be the “easiest” of all. In other words, if your device has enough memory, then Lightning Browser would be a good choice - it is a simple, feature-rich and fast browser.

* Note: Keep in mind that memory consumption varies by device.

Conclusion

We used the OnePlus One smartphone to test all browsers.

If we exclude anomalies such as Puffin, we will see roughly average results for all browsers. Yes, we can say that Dolphin, Opera, and Firefox are usually slower than others, and Chrome and CM Browser have proven to be one of the fastest. CM Browser pleased with the simplicity and speed of work. On the other hand, Dolphin, despite its problems in the speed of work, offers a very interesting functionality.

The biggest disappointment in this test is Puffin. The developers clearly focused not on that, but could make one of the best mobile browsers in the world.

In general, we can say that the most popular does not mean the best. If you do not want to spend time choosing an Android browser, not one browser on our list will disappoint you (we seriously, you might even like Puffin).