We update our browser testing recommendations in the Service Manual every 6 months. Samsung Internet is the latest addition to our list to test your service in.
Why we added Samsung Internet
Samsung Internet is the default browser on Samsung devices and has 2.71% of UK browser market share and over 400 million active monthly users worldwide.
This browser now accounts for a significant share of traffic to GOV.UK. From December to January, 466,012 users visited GOV.UK using Samsung Internet, accounting for 3.2% of traffic. On GOV.UK’s 10 most-used service start pages, Samsung Internet accounts for between 1% and 5% of traffic.
Samsung Internet and Chrome for Android are different and more changes are expected
Samsung Internet is one of several browsers for the Android operating system built on Chromium, the open source code project that’s also the basis for the Google Chrome browser.
Webpages and features on Samsung Internet and Google Chrome for Android function in a similar way but this might change as the browsers diverge. Google Analytics started to distinguish between Samsung Internet and Chrome for Android in August 2017 - previously, it had counted them as the same browser.
Some functional differences between the 2 browsers are already apparent and web developers will need to consider slight differences in CSS, JavaScript and interface features when building for this browser mix.
In the future, there may be a fundamental difference in how pages render or function on Samsung Internet and Chrome for Android. That’s why we think testing this new, popular browser is important.
Having more browsers around is better for everyone
Diversity in the browser market is great for users. Competition between browsers helps to stimulate development of the web, as browsers are iterated to become faster, more secure and easier to use. We’ll keep monitoring use data to make sure GOV.UK keeps pace with the evolving browser space.
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5 comments
Comment by Šime Vidas posted on
Regarding the “functional differences between the 2 browsers” link, note that you’re comparing the desktop version of Chrome with Samsung Internet, a mobile browser. A more accurate comparison would be to use Chrome for Android instead. This is significant for features such as Media Capture or HTTP Live Streaming, which are only supported in the mobile version of Chrome, and your comparison may lead people to believe that these features are not supported in Chrome at all.
Comment by khidr posted on
Hi Sime - thanks for pointing that out. We have clarified that we meant Chrome for Android
Comment by thanos posted on
Samsung Internet lets me use add-block addons...PERIOD!!!
Comment by Matt posted on
It's worth noting that Samsung Internet is available on the Google Play Store, and isn't restricted to Samsung devices, so you should be able to use any modern Android device to test in it
Comment by Browser Support posted on
Google chrome and Mozilla Firefox is still best recommended browser for phone as well as desktops.