Samsung Internet

Last updated
Samsung Internet Browser
Developer(s) Samsung Electronics
Operating system Android, Tizen, Wear OS
Type Web Browser
Website Official website

The Samsung Internet Browser is a web browser developed by Samsung Electronics. It was first released in 2012 as a basic mobile browser on Samsung Galaxy devices. Now, it is a feature-rich application that is available on Android and was available on Windows. [1] [2]

Contents

Samsung estimated that it had around 400 million monthly active users in 2016. According to StatCounter, it had a market share of around 5.06% (among 69.37% for all Chrome variants) in January 2023. [3]

In November 2023, Samsung Internet was released on Microsoft Windows via the Microsoft Store. Its Windows release is currently unavailable, having been inexplicably removed from the Microsoft Store in January 2024. [4]

Version history

Samsung Internet replaced the stock Android browser as the default on Samsung Galaxy devices in 2012. [5]

VersionBased uponRelease dateNew features
1.0Chromium 182012
1.5Chromium 28
2.0Chromium 34
3.0 Chromium 38August 2015Quick Access, Navigation Page, Shortcut Promotion Banner, Audio Notification, Data Saving Mode [6]
4.0Chromium 44early 2016secret mode, content cards, a floating video, a video history feature, web push, service workers, custom tabs, and a content blocker extension. [7] [8]
4.2Chromium 44October 4, 2016Iris Scanner Support in Secret Mode and Web Auto Login, Web Content Provider Extension, QR Code reader, Video Assistant, 360° Video Support [9]
5.0Chromium 51December 16, 2016web payment and an enhanced video assistant. [10] [11]
5.2Chromium 51February, 2017Samsung Dex Support, CloseBy, Web Payment-Deep integration with Samsung Pay, Progressive Web App indication badge [12]
5.4Chromium 51Beta March 2017 [13]

Stable May 2017 [14]

tab navigation with a swipe gesture, a quick menu, an enhanced navigation page (China only), and a content blocker status UI (in menu). [15]
6.0Chromium 56September 8, 2017
6.2Chromium 56October 30, 2017high contrast mode and night mode. [16] [17]
6.4Chromium 56February 19, 2018download manager and enabled Web Bluetooth by default. [18] [19]
7.0Chromium 59March 7, 2018
7.2Chromium 59June 7, 2018WebGL2, Intersection Observer, Web Assembly and Protected Browsing. [20]
7.4Chromium 59August 19, 2018authentication with Intelligent Scan, a customised Reader Mode and Download History improvements. [21]
8.0Chromium 63August, 2018
8.2Chromium 63December 21, 2018improved Download Manager, an improved Reader Mode, bug fixes and stabilization, and quick access sync via Smart Switch. [22]
9.0Chromium 67February 20, 2019One UI support [23]
9.2Chromium 67April 2, 2019removed the "video assistant" extension that was added in previous versions as a "quick menu", adding a redesigned app icon, a further redesigned user interface and respective one-handedness, Smart Anti-Tracking, an option to turn on Save All Images, as well as bug fixes and stabilization.
9.2.10.15Chromium 67May 19, 2019a +10 and -10 sec seek function for YouTube web videos, optimized RAM usage, and fixed two bugs affecting Dark Mode and the Iris auto login in DeX Mode.
9.4Chromium 67July 22, 2019a QR Code reader, a Tab manager for tablet devices, a Notification manager for Web pushes, History navigation in each tab, video autoplay control, a Rename function while doing "add to home screen", and a Pause/Resume function for "Save all images", in addition to bug fixes and stabilization. [24]
10.0Chromium 71August, 2019
10.1.00.27Chromium 71September 8, 2019Quick Access data synchronization and an even furthered refined user interface, and including bug fixes and stabilization.
10.1.01.3Chromium 71October 3, 2019fixed bugs affecting mirroring in Bookmarks, History and Saved pages for right-to-left languages and refined the user interface again.
10.2.00.53Chromium 71November 24, 2019Video assistant, a Contact us icon, a feature which allows which apps use Samsung Internet, a customizable menu, a renewed Tab manager, a once again refined user interface, an improved high contrast mode and bug fixes and stabilizations. [25]
10.2.01.10Chromium 71January 14, 2020an optional Picture-In-Picture video, fingerprint-enabled Easy sign-in in Samsung DeX stand-alone mode, an enhanced scroll capture and fixes crashes caused by certain conditions.
11.0Chromium 75February, 2020One UI 2.0 support, Credential Management API support, Browser Extensions (which require Android Marshmallow or later and a Galaxy Store account) [26]
11.1.1.52Chromium 75February 25, 2020A redesigned Go to Top button and UI, Quick access, bug fixes and stabilization, and improving performance.
11.2Chromium 75March 1, 2020Smart protection, Support for more buttons in Customize menu, Increase max number of open tabs to 99, Additional search engines, Address & card sync via Samsung Pass, News notifications (India and China), Usability enhancements for tablet devices [27]
12.0.1.47Chromium 79June 19, 2020Open links in secret mode from the context menu, more password manager apps are allowed to autofill ID and passwords, and stability and security improvements. [28]
13.0.1.64Chromium 83November 19, 2020Hide status bar option for Infinity Display, Enhanced Smart Protection, Additional gesture support in Video Assistant [29]
14.0.1.62Chromium 87Beta March 2021 [30]

Stable April 17, 2021

Security Control Panel for Enhanced Privacy, Apply device font settings to web pages (in Labs), Enhanced Smart Anti-Tracking (v3.0) [31]
15.0.2.47Chromium 90 [32] Beta July 2021 [33]

Stable August 28, 2021

Introduce Smart Protection, a technology to protect users against fingerprinting. Quick Search and Fast Navigation to make it easier to search for information from the home screen. WebXR Lighting Estimation API.
16.0.2.19Chromium 92

Stable November 26, 2021 [34]

17.0.6.9Chromium 96

Stable June 14, 2022 [35]

18.0Chromium 99Beta June 28, 2022 [36]

Stable August 6, 2022

Toolbar customization, CNAME Cloaking Protection
19.0Chromium 102Beta August 23, 2022 [37]

Stable November 1, 2022

WebXR Incubations
20.0Chromium 106Beta Dec 20, 2022

Stable February 19, 2023

Bookmarks folder search
21.0Chromium 110Beta April 18, 2023 [38]
22.0Chromium 111Stable July 14, 2023
23.0Chromium 115Stable October 18, 2023 [39] Increased number of days of History saved, support of URL auto-complete in address bar, new support for syncing tab groups
24.0Chromium 117
25.0Chromium 121Attribution reporting (experimental, requires flag to enable)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smartphone</span> Handheld mobile device

A smartphone, often simply called a phone, is a mobile device that combines the functionality of a traditional mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multimedia playback and streaming. Smartphones have built-in cameras, GPS navigation, and support for various communication methods, including voice calls, text messaging, and internet-based messaging apps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile browser</span> Web browser designed for use on mobile devices

A mobile browser is a web browser designed for use on a mobile device such as a mobile phone, PDA, smartphone, or tablet. Mobile browsers are optimized to display web content most effectively on small screens on portable devices. Some mobile browsers, especially older versions, are designed to be small and efficient to accommodate the low memory capacity and low bandwidth of certain wireless handheld devices. Traditional smaller feature phones use stripped-down mobile web browsers; however, most current smartphones have full-fledged browsers that can handle the latest web technologies, such as CSS 3, JavaScript, and Ajax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet Explorer Mobile</span> Mobile version of Internet Explorer web browser by Microsoft

Internet Explorer Mobile was a mobile version of Internet Explorer developed by Microsoft, based on versions of the MSHTML (Trident) layout engine. IE Mobile comes loaded by default with Windows Phone and Windows CE. Later versions of Internet Explorer Mobile are based on the desktop version of Internet Explorer. Older versions however, called Pocket Internet Explorer, are not based on the same layout engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adobe Lightroom</span> Photo editing and management software

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, usually called Lightroom, is an image organization and processing application developed by Adobe. It is licensed as a standalone subscription or as part of Creative Cloud. It is supported on Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and tvOS. Its primary uses include importing, saving, viewing, organizing, tagging, editing, and sharing large numbers of digital images. Lightroom's editing functions include white balance, presence, tone, tone curve, HSL, color grading, detail, lens corrections, and calibration manipulation, as well as transformation, spot removal, red eye correction, graduated filters, radial filters, and adjustment brushing. The name Lightroom is a play on the darkrooms used for processing film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zotero</span> Open-source reference management software

Zotero is free and open-source reference management software to manage bibliographic data and related research materials, such as PDF and ePUB files. Features include web browser integration, online syncing, generation of in-text citations, footnotes, and bibliographies, integrated PDF, ePUB and HTML readers with annotation capabilities, and a note editor, as well as integration with the word processors Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Writer, and Google Docs. It was originally created at the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University and, as of 2021, is developed by the non-profit Corporation for Digital Scholarship.

A mobile operating system is an operating system used for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical/mobile laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on them are usually not considered mobile, as they were originally designed for desktop computers that historically did not have or need specific mobile features. This "fine line" distinguishing mobile and other forms has become blurred in recent years, due to the fact that newer devices have become smaller and more mobile, unlike the hardware of the past. Key notabilities blurring this line are the introduction of tablet computers, light laptops, and the hybridization of the two in 2-in-1 PCs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefox for Android</span> Android web browser by Mozilla

Firefox for Android is a web browser developed by Mozilla for Android smartphones and tablet computers. As with its desktop version, it uses the Gecko layout engine, and supports features such as synchronization with Firefox Sync, and add-ons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WebGL</span> JavaScript bindings for OpenGL in web browsers

WebGL is a JavaScript API for rendering interactive 2D and 3D graphics within any compatible web browser without the use of plug-ins. WebGL is fully integrated with other web standards, allowing GPU-accelerated usage of physics, image processing, and effects in the HTML canvas. WebGL elements can be mixed with other HTML elements and composited with other parts of the page or page background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CyanogenMod</span> Discontinued open-source mobile operating system

CyanogenMod is a discontinued open-source operating system for mobile devices, based on the Android mobile platform. Developed between 2009 and 2016, it was free and open-source software based on the official releases of Android by Google, with added original and third-party code, and based on a rolling release development model. Although only a subset of total CyanogenMod users elected to report their use of the firmware, on 23 March 2015, some reports indicated that over 50 million people ran CyanogenMod on their phones. It was also frequently used as a starting point by developers of other ROMs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ChatON</span> Mobile communication service

ChatON was a global mobile communication service provided by Samsung Electronics from September 2011 to March 2015.

Samsung Knox is a proprietary security and management framework pre-installed on most Samsung mobile devices. Its primary purpose is to provide organizations with a toolset for managing work devices, such as employee mobile phones or interactive kiosks. Samsung Galaxy hardware, as well as software such as Secure Folder and Samsung Wallet, make use of the Knox framework.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Edge</span> Web browser developed by Microsoft

Microsoft Edge is a proprietary cross-platform web browser created by Microsoft. Released in 2015 along with both Windows 10 and Xbox One, it was initially built with Microsoft's own proprietary browser engine, EdgeHTML, and their Chakra JavaScript engine. Later on, it was ported to Android and iOS as a fork of Google's Chromium open-source project. In late 2018, Microsoft announced it would completely rebuild Edge as a Chromium-based browser with Blink and V8 engines, which allowed the browser to be ported to macOS. The new Edge was publicly released in January 2020, and on Xbox platforms in 2021. Microsoft has since terminated security support for the original browser. Edge is also available on older Windows versions until early 2023, as well as Linux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive web app</span> Specific form of single page web application

A progressive web application (PWA), or progressive web app, is a type of web app that can be installed on a device as a standalone application. PWAs are installed using the offline cache of the device's web browser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Experience</span> Software overlay by Samsung Electronics

Samsung Experience was the name of the software overlay by Samsung for its Galaxy devices running Android 7.x “Nougat” and Android 8.x “Oreo”. It was introduced in late 2016 on a beta build based on Android 7.0 “Nougat” for the Galaxy S7, succeeding TouchWiz. It has been succeeded in 2018 by One UI based on Android 9 “Pie” and later versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bixby (software)</span> Intelligent personal assistant

Bixby is a virtual assistant developed by Samsung Electronics, launched in 2017 as a replacement of the S Voice assistant. It runs on various Samsung branded appliances, primarily mobile devices but also some refrigerators. The suite includes a voice assistant known as Bixby Voice, as well as contextual search and visual search features including tools like Bixby Vision, an augmented reality camera app, Bixby Text Call, a handsfree call answer feature, and others like Bixby Routines, and Bixby Home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One UI</span> Software overlay by Samsung Electronics Limited

One UI is a user interface (UI) developed by Samsung Electronics for its smart devices including Android devices running Android 9 and later. Succeeding Samsung Experience, it is designed to make using larger smartphones easier and be more visually appealing. It was announced at Samsung Developer Conference in 2018, and was unveiled in Galaxy Unpacked in February 2019 alongside the Galaxy S10 series, Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Fold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foldable smartphone</span> Smartphone form factors that use flexible displays

A foldable smartphone is a smartphone with a folding form factor. It is reminiscent of the clamshell design of many earlier feature phones. Some variants of the concept use multiple touchscreen panels on a hinge, while other designs utilise a flexible display. Concepts of such devices date back as early as Nokia's "Morph" concept in 2008, and a concept presented by Samsung Electronics in 2013, while the first commercially available folding smartphones with OLED displays began to emerge in November 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Messages</span> Messaging application developed by Google

Google Messages is a text messaging software application developed by Google for its Android and Wear OS mobile operating systems. It is also available as a web app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samsung Galaxy Note 20</span> Line of high-end Android-based phablets developed by Samsung Electronics

The Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are a series of high-end Android-based phablets developed, produced, and marketed by Samsung Electronics as part of their Samsung Galaxy Note series, succeeding the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 series. The phablets were announced on 5 August 2020 alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Watch 3, Galaxy Buds Live and Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 during Samsung's Unpacked Event. It was the final model in the Galaxy Note series, with Samsung beginning to integrate the functionality from the Note series into its S series "Ultra" models, starting with the Galaxy S22 Ultra released in February 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bootloader unlocking</span> Process of disabling secure device booting

Bootloader unlocking is the process of disabling the bootloader security that makes secure boot possible. It can make advanced customizations possible, such as installing custom firmware. On smartphones, this can be a custom Android distribution or another mobile operating system. Some bootloaders are not locked at all and some are locked, but can be unlocked with a command or with assistance from the manufacturer. Some do not include an unlocking method and can only be unlocked through a software exploit.

References

  1. "Introducing Samsung Internet v6.2 stable". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  2. "Get Samsung's Internet Browser on Almost Any Android Device". Gadget Hacks. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  3. "Mobile Browser Market Share Worldwide". StatCounter. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
  4. Beri, Devesh (2024-01-15). "Samsung's browser 'Internet' mysteriously taken off the Microsoft Store". MSPoweruser. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  5. "Samsung Internet Overview". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  6. "Samsung Internet Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  7. "Samsung Internet for Android 4.0 Release Note". Samsung Newsroom. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  8. "Samsung Internet 4.0 and Cross App Boost Functionality for Galaxy Devices with Android 6.0 Marshmallow Update". Samsung Newsroom. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. "Samsung Internet Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  10. "Samsung Internet for Android 5.0 Release Note". Samsung Developers. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  11. "Announcing Samsung Internet 5.0". Medium. 23 December 2016. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  12. "Samsung Internet Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  13. "Samsung Internet Beta now available without sign up". Medium. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  14. "Announcing Samsung Internet v5.4 stable!". Medium. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  15. "Samsung Internet for Android 5.4 Release Note". Samsung Developers. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  16. "Samsung Internet for Android 6.2 Release Note". Samsung Developers. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  17. "Samsung Internet v6.2 Now Stable!". Medium. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  18. "Samsung Internet for Android 6.4 Release Note". Samsung Developers. Archived from the original on 2017-11-04. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  19. "Let's connect with Samsung Internet v6.4 stable!". Medium. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  20. "7.2 Stable is Here!". Medium. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  21. "Samsung Internet 7.4 is stable—let's check-out what's new". Medium. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  22. "8.2 Stable Release is out the Door". Medium. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
  23. "Samsung Internet Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  24. "9.4 is Here!". Medium. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  25. "Samsung Internet 10.2 Beta". Medium. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  26. "Samsung Internet Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  27. "Samsung Internet Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  28. "Samsung Internet for Android 12 Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2020-07-29.
  29. "Samsung Internet for Android 13 Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  30. "Introducing Samsung Internet 14.0 Beta". Medium. 9 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
  31. "Samsung Internet for Android 14 Release Notes". Samsung Developers. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  32. "Samsung Internet 15 update brings a new widget and updated Chromium engine". XDA Developers. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
  33. "Samsung Internet 15.0 Beta Has Arrived". Samsung Mobile Press | Samsung Mobile press Official website. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  34. "Samsung Internet Browser | Latest Version 16.0".
  35. "Samsung Internet 17.0 Puts Privacy and Security Front and Center".
  36. Appelquist, Daniel (2022-06-28). "18.0 Beta: Enhanced Privacy, Enhanced UI". Samsung Internet Developers. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  37. "Samsung Internet 19.0 Beta is Now Available".
  38. Im, Dongwoo (2023-04-18). "Samsung Internet v21.0 Beta : Enhanced customization for your convenience". Samsung Internet Developers. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  39. Joshua Im, Dongwoo (22 February 2024). "Samsung Internet v23.0 Stable, coming with enhanced security and convenience". Medium.