Why I’m never going back

Opinion from

Mitja Rutnik

I’ve used the Android version of Google Chrome for years, but I’ve never been completely satisfied with the overall experience. The browser didn’t feel as intuitive as I would like it to be. It lacked the customization that I wanted, so I went looking for a better alternative. After trying some of its rivals including Firefox and Opera, I came across Samsung Internet. I was immediately impressed. I’ve been using it regularly for about a year now and think it’s miles ahead of Google Chrome. Let’s go over a few reasons why.

Compared to Chrome, Samsung Internet has a much better toolbar. For one, it’s at the bottom of the browser instead of at the top. This might sound strange to Chrome addicts, but it means I don’t have to do hand aerobics to access it.

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Then there are the features and customization options. Chrome only gives you three buttons on the toolbar (Home, Tabs, and Menu), while Samsung Internet has a ton of buttons. You can choose between 25 different options. That includes downloads, history, and bookmarks to name a few – check out all of them in the image below. And best of all, you can customize the toolbar to your liking by just adding the buttons you use regularly.

I can also get things done faster with the Samsung Internet toolbar. I can open a new tab by long pressing the tabs button. I can also switch to Secret / Incognito mode to surf privately with just one tap. Performing the same tasks in Chrome requires an extra tap, plus the annoying experience of stretching my fingers to the top of the screen. Speaking of stretching, I can do a new search on the Samsung internet by long-pressing the home button. I don’t have to tap the address bar at all like I do with Chrome.

I know it doesn’t seem like I’m pecking at here, but when you do dozens of searches a day, open tons of new tabs, and use Secret / Incognito mode frequently, you quickly realize the importance of keeping these things with that little effort to get done effort as possible.

Samsung Internet’s homepage is more customizable than Chrome’s.

Samsung’s browser also has a better homepage than Chrome. The biggest difference between the two is the customization available. With Samsung Internet, I can place shortcuts to my favorite websites on the home page. Hence, I don’t have to type in the site’s address every time I want to visit it. Chrome, on the other hand, only shows you your most visited websites – something you can also enable on the Samsung Internet. However, this is not always a good idea as you may not want some of your frequently visited websites to appear on the home page.

The website shortcuts that you manually add to the Samsung Internet home page also appear under the address bar when you search from any page. This makes the overall experience that much better. To give you an example when you’re on Android Authority If you press and hold the Home button to do a new search, all of your website’s shortcuts will appear at the top of the browser.

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Dark mode is better on Samsung internet too. While Chrome applies dark mode to the top toolbar – which disappears when you scroll – and the Settings menu, Samsung Internet applies it to the pages you visit as well. If you’re reading a post on a website with a white background and black text, turning on dark mode will change the colors. The background turns black and the text turns white. It takes getting used to, but you really see the benefit of reading something in a darker setting – your eyes will thank you.

You can even pair Samsung Internet’s dark mode with a high-contrast mode. It adjusts the colors of fonts and other components on a page to make them stand out against the background. You can see what this looks like in action in the screenshot above.

Samsung’s browser offers a few other useful features that you won’t find in its main competitor. It has a floating scroll button that takes me back to tapping a page when I tap it. In addition, it has a built-in QR reader which is still useful from time to time. It also has a built-in ad blocker that can be turned on or off in the browser. I don’t have to open a separate app like with Chrome.

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Of course, Chrome also has its advantages over Samsung Internet. Thanks to the integration of Google Translate, you can quickly translate text and you have a lite mode that saves data as you browse. The Google browser also has a great Discover feature. It will show you a number of articles that might interest you on the home page that have been curated based on your search history and your Google profile. Despite its advantages, the overall experience is nowhere near as good as what you get with Samsung Internet.

That’s my opinion, and now I want to hear yours! If you disagree with me, head over to the comments section below. Tell me why I am wrong and maybe you can change my mind. I will do my best to respond to as many comments as possible so we can start a proper conversation. Also, share your thoughts if you agree with my opinion – I’d love to see how many people are on my side and if anyone is convinced to give Samsung Internet a try!