What Android web browser are you using in 2020?

By Joe Maring
published

Samsung Internet vs. Google Chrome
Samsung Internet vs. Google Chrome (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

Browsing the web is one of the most basic things you can do on an Android phone. How you go about doing that, though, can look and feel very different depending on which web browser you use.

While Google Chrome is what's installed by default on most phones, there are plenty of other browsers out there for you to choose from — including the likes of Samsung Internet, Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge, and more.

Talking about web browsers is something our AC forum members do quite often, so we wanted to check up on them and see which browsers are catching their fancy in 2020.

Year after year, Samsung phone model after model, I always come back to their Internet app. This time, on the S10+, I lived for a while on Chrome, then a carefully configured Firefox, for months. Then, last week, I went back to Samsung Internet, a-gain. It's the best. For me, nothing is as fast or as intuitive to use. Had to say - what a great app!

billykac

Brave... is my primary browser.

blackhawkhot

I only use the Samsung Internet app on my S10 every once in a while - I use Chrome for the most part. I should give the stock app more of a try, though! Thanks for sharing your opinion of the app! :)

Morty2264

I used to use Chrome heavily due to being on a Pixel. Now I am on an S10+ I prefer the Samsung Internet browser. Especially the adblock extensions. I have found all the Samsung apps are better to use than others on a Samsung phone. Better integration.

Kizzy Catwoman

What about you? What Android web browser are you using in 2020?

Joe Maring
Joe Maring

Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.

22 Comments
  • Firefox. I'd like to try kiwi, opera or brave, but Google messed chromium up, making it impossible to autofill passwords using any password manager (unless using the legacy accessibility service).
    So yeah, more for lack of choice than for a real preference.
  • In order of preference: Firefox, Samsung internet and chrome. Although I tend to open links in Firefox focus.
  • I use Duckduckgo
  • That's my default search provider in Firefox.
  • I used chrome for a long time but I switched to edge after the chromium update on Windows and I've never looked back.
  • I'm personally using Vivaldi on my Android phone. It just got out of beta and comes with a built in ad and tracker blocker, a sync service with the desktop version that you encrypt with your own password, and it completely re-implements mobile Chromium removing all traces of Google tracking! I've recommended it to my friends who are less tech literate and they've loved it!
  • Brave browser (with duckduckgo as default search engine) + DNS66 + Pi-hole.
    I can't remember the last time I saw an ad.
  • DNS66 made my phone unusable... So laggy. I should really get round to building a Pi hole... It would probably vastly improve my experience but I'm reticent to add another device that would need troubleshooting to complicate my network further... Laziness is a legitimate disability!
  • Samsung or Duckduckgo
  • Chrome Beta, also Edge Beta.
  • I use Microsoft edge since I use edge on the pc too so I can sync up everything among my devices.
  • Firefox Focus, it has a bare-bones user interface and it's just a web browser (with anti-tracking and cookie management enabled by default). I don't need all the added bling and cruft that a lot of the other browser apps add in. I just want to view web sites for the base info they provide, all the eye candy crap is for my desktop/laptop browsers.
    And its engine is based on Gecko, so it's not just another Chromium-based clone -- all the Chrome fan-boys tout its market share numbers but we've entered a time not unlike just a few years ago when Microsoft dominated web development with its IE/Trident/ActiveX. Now that we've receded back to a mono-culture on what web browsers work and don't work with a lot of online services, it's not going to end well for us all when some Bling-based exploit pervades the Internet.
  • I'm a Microsoft guy (.net developer) and I like the whole MS ecosystem on android, so I primarily use the Edge browser (which is really chrome underneath)
  • Samsung Internet hands down. Love that dark mode!
  • Firefox, has been my main browser on everything I own, android phone, android tablets, microsoft computers. See no reason to change.
  • Primarily Firefox Focus on my Android phones, as recommended in an article by Jerry here long ago. It's also my first choice on my iPhone because Safari is horrible. I really dislike Chrome on Android and iOS. I have Opera installed but I think it gets worse with every update. I occasionally use Samsung Browser and Edge (carried over from my Windows Phone years)
  • Vivaldi is now my default web browser on android now. just out of beta and fully syncs with my desktops. plus the tracker / ad blocker is a welcome bonus
  • Wow! How cool a simple voting could have been. Edge.
  • Edge and Samsung both are excellent.
  • Opera is probably the best. :)
  • I've been using the Samsung Internet app for years. I just like the features it has and it serves my needs if I am sending links to friends or checking out websites for daily news.
  • I've had Amazon Kindle Fires since they were available and used their default (Silk) for years although I've tried Opera I just couldn't seem to get it to perform properly.
    On my latest device (8th gen.) my primary browser is Vivaldi and sometimes Firefox Focus for links from Outlook.
    Been using Vivaldi Desktop since the Alpha version was released and had to try the Android version (even though the Kindle is not strictly an Android). Even Vivaldi's Android Beta was far superior to anything else I've tried and I've tried plenty.
    Now with a stable version out there's not reason to hang on to anything else. For non supported phones/tablets there is an APK file at the Vivaldi Android download site.