If you have an old or cheap Android phone, popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge can seriously affect your device’s performance. The reason is that these browsers take up a lot of storage space, processing power, and RAM, making your device unresponsive.
Fortunately, there are quite a few ultra-lightweight browsers that take up less space and focus more on speed and performance to choose from. Here are some lightweight browsers you can choose from:
Via Browser – Fast & Light
Via Browser is built on top of Chromium WebView. The main highlight of this browser is simplicity. This browser doesn’t truncate any functionality and gives you plenty of personalization options. You’re in control of every aspect of the browser, from the look and feel of how you interact. Speaking of speed, Via Browser is one of the fastest Android browsers out there.
In terms of customization, you can change the style and background of the homepage, set the browser logo to any image you like, and even adjust the background opacity.
Via Browser also has an incognito mode for private browsing, and you can even set a schedule for the app to automatically delete your browsing history when you log out. You can even set the navigation buttons to perform specific functions when held down.
Via Browser also has some advanced features like changing the user agent, avoiding downloading images when using mobile data, saving web pages for offline use, etc.
Orions – Privacy Brows
Orions is an ultra-lightweight web browser that also runs on Chromium WebView, formerly known as the Monument Browser. It is a fast, secure and intuitive browser designed to provide users with the best browsing and reading experience. You can choose to move the search bar from top to bottom, change the user agent, and change the search engine.
Orion: Designed for Reading
Orions has some interesting options for you when you start surfing. You can find them in the overflow menu > extras. You can turn on night mode or try reading mode, which changes fonts and even lets you listen to articles on the screen. On the page, you can take a screenshot of the entire article or save it as a PDF.
The app has built-in support for downloading audio, video, and entire pages for offline viewing. Click the overflow menu and select Download Media to activate the Media Inspector. The browser also automatically turns on picture-in-picture mode when you watch a video.
Orions is the right choice if you’re looking for a lightweight browser focused on surfing and reading.
Phoenix Browser – Fast & Safe
Phoenix Browser uses browser components built on Chromium. It is a lightweight browser with a built-in downloader to easily download and play videos without third-party video players.
However, after installing the app, you’ll find the homepage flooded with news based on the locations, games, and pages you visit. Ad notifications are also a bit of a problem. If these things bother you, you can click Manage Home and turn off all options. You can also disable notifications for this app.
In addition to the standard features of the browser, Phoenix Browser also offers some cool stuff. You can find them by clicking the three-dash menu and selecting Toolbox. When you choose private space, your browsing history and downloaded videos will be stored in a separate database, other users will not know what you have visited and which videos you have downloaded.
Overall, there are pros and cons to this app, but if you travel a lot and enjoy watching videos, Phoenix Browser is the browser you should have on your device.
Hermit — Lite Apps Browser
Hermit is a browser that allows you to create stripped-down applications from websites you frequently visit. It also has a very rich library of pre-made lite apps with preset settings. Tap the app icon to install it now. If you can’t find an app you like, just enter the page’s URL and Hermit will turn it into an app on your home screen.
hermit
When you use Chrome to create shortcuts to web pages, it acts as a browser tab. In Hermit, applications behave like real applications in the browser. You can customize these apps with different settings.
For example, you can install one application in desktop mode while another application is in portable mode. You can also block photos for specific apps and install themes… Hermit also supports notifications for RSS feeds, allows you to bookmark specific sections of pages, supports dark mode and reading mode…
If you have an old Android phone, Hermit will help you reduce battery consumption, free up storage space, and reduce permission requests by eliminating the need to install many apps.
Opera Mini: Fast Web Browser
Opera Mini is a lightweight and powerful browser designed to run on resource-constrained devices. It has useful features such as incognito mode, smart downloads with mobile data detection, night mode, ability to change search engines, sync data across multiple devices. Bag…
Opera Mini: Browser with Data Saving
In the browser, Opera Mini’s data saving mode is unique and supports multiple modes. Click the Opera Mini button on the lower toolbar and go to Settings > Data Savings. You’ll see a graph of data saved for the past week. You can let Opera configure data saving itself, or choose Extreme and High compression modes for the media you access.
In high compression mode, the browser passes the web page through the server and returns a lighter version on the phone. Conversely, Extreme Compression would be too extreme and could crash the site. You should only use it if you have a very bad connection or very low data access.
Google Go
When it comes to flexibility and simplicity, Google Go cannot be mentioned. The browser has been redesigned for speed and efficiency for Google’s Android Go models.
Google Go: an almost original experience
With over 1 billion downloads, Google Go provides users with a powerful and versatile web browser. Some of its most unique features include the ability to point the smartphone camera at any text to read it aloud. Other Google services like Translator and Lens are also integrated into Google Go for faster access.
Google Go also has a feed that provides news and new trends personalized to your interests. You also get one-click access to most web apps without having to install separate social networking apps on your phone.
Other notable features of the browser include the addition of a second browsing language, the ability to apply a wallpaper of your choice, and enable notifications when background page loads are complete.
Conclusion
In the Google Play Store, there are many lightweight browser applications with different features and functionalities. It is not reasonable to use browsers like Chrome, Firefox, etc. on older Android smartphone models. In the long run, the right browser will not only save battery life, it will also prolong the life of your smartphone.