Samsung Internet Browser (or simply Samsung Internet or ''S Browser'') is a

mobile web browser A mobile browser is a web browser designed for use on a mobile device such as a mobile phone or PDA. Mobile browsers are optimized to display Web content most effectively on small screens on portable devices. Mobile browser software must be smal ...

for

smartphones A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...

and tablets developed by

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (, sometimes shortened to SEC and stylized as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational electronics corporation headquartered in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, South Korea. It is the pinnacle of ...

. It is based on the

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

Chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

project. It comes pre-installed on

Samsung Galaxy Samsung Galaxy (, stylised as SΛMSUNG Galaxy since 2015 (except Japan where it omits the Samsung branding), previously stylised as Samsung GALAXY; abbreviated as SG) is a series of computing and mobile computing devices that are designed, ...

devices. Since 2015, it has been available for download from

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

, and recently it is also available for their Tizen-based smartwatch via the

Samsung Galaxy Store Samsung Galaxy Store (marketed as Galaxy Store; formerly known as Samsung Apps and Galaxy Apps) is an app store used for devices manufactured by Samsung Electronics that was launched in September 2009. The service is primarily supplied pre-inst ...

. Samsung estimated that it had around 400 million

monthly active users Active users is a measurement metric that is commonly used to measure the level of engagement for a particular product or object, by quantifying the number of active interactions from visitors within a relevant range of time (daily, weekly and m ...

in 2016. According to

StatCounter StatCounter is a web traffic analysis website started in 1999. Access to basic services is free to use and advanced services can cost between and US$119 a month. StatCounter is based in Dublin, Ireland. The statistics from StatCounter are used ...

, it had a market share of around 4.98% (among 53.26% for all Chrome variants) around May 2018. Most of the code differences to the standard Chromium code base were introduced in order to support Samsung-specific hardware, such as

Gear VR The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus VR, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on November 27, 2015. When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device acts ...

and biometric sensors.

History

Samsung Internet replaced the stock Android browser as the default on Samsung Galaxy devices in 2012. Around early 2013, it was decided to base the browser on Chromium, and the first Chromium-based version was shipped with an S4 model later that year.

Support

The later version (v6.2) of Samsung Internet for Android supports all Android 5.0 and above phones. Previously, (v5.0) Samsung Internet for Android was only supported on Samsung Galaxy and

Google Nexus Google Nexus is a discontinued line of consumer electronic devices that run the Android operating system. Google managed the design, development, marketing, and support of these devices, but some development and all manufacturing were carried ...

phones with Android 5.0 and above.

Features

* Content blocking extensions * Gear VR and DeX integration * KNOX Support *

Tabbed browsing In interface design, a tab is a graphical user interface object that allows multiple documents or panels to be contained within a single window, using tabs as a navigational widget for switching between sets of documents. It is an interface s ...

with up to 99 tabs, where opening the 100th tab closes the earliest tab. * Bookmark Synchronisation * Ad Blocking * Reading Mode * Saved Pages * "Secret mode" and

biometric authentication Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...

(unavailable in Knox-tripped devices, which is disabled by ''

eFuse In computing, an eFuse (electronic fuse) is a microscopic fuse put into a computer chip. This technology was invented by IBM in 2004 to allow for the dynamic real-time reprogramming of chips. In the abstract, computer logic is generally "etched ...

'' hardware upon unlocking the bootloader) * Secure Web Auto Login * SPen features * find on pages * Support for service workers an
Push API
* Dark Mode * Customise Menu * Video Assistant * QR code scanner * Smart anti tracking The ''Saved Pages'' feature has been criticized for lack of

data portability Data portability is a concept to protect users from having their data stored in "silos" or "walled gardens" that are incompatible with one another, i.e. closed platforms, thus subjecting them to vendor lock-in and making the creation of data backups ...

, due to the pages being stored in a locked directory from which they can not be

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

ed and

backed up Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The Human feces, stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bo ...

by the user.

References

External links

Samsung Internet Developer hub
{{Web browsers 2013 software Android web browsers Samsung Galaxy Samsung software Software based on WebKit