Best android browser?

https://lemmy.ml/post/7573770

Best android browser? - Lemmy

Hello everyone, I’m in search of a new Android browser. Currently, I’m using Via browser, which is lightweight and functions well with essential features. However, the only thing it lacks is a tracker library blocker. I’m contemplating switching to Mozilla Fennec, which does have a library blocker, but I’d prefer something as minimalistic as Via, which I believe is only around 2 MB in size

If it’s “only” 2MB, it must be using internal Android WebView for rendering. By my definition it’s not even a “browser”, it’s just a wrapper.

FAQ from github.com/tuyafeng/Via#faq

Which rendering engine does Via use?

Via uses the built-in WebView renderer included on the Android platform. On Android 5.0+ devices, the WebView implementation is usually Android System WebView (com.google.android.webview), you can update it in the Play Store for a better browsing experience. If you want to know the current WebView implementation and version of your device, you can click “Settings - About” in Via and tap on the Via logo to get the debugging information which contains the WebView information.

GitHub - tuyafeng/Via: Via is a simple browser, and this repository is set for localization.

Via is a simple browser, and this repository is set for localization. - GitHub - tuyafeng/Via: Via is a simple browser, and this repository is set for localization.

GitHub
I use Via on my Android 2.3.7 device. What is using there?
How are you still using that old os ? Also how does it perform ? do the modern web run in it ?

Old device that I use for some older games and as spare. Device is Huawei IDEOS U8150 running CyanogenMod 7

Modern web used to work on it and quite smoothly too if you set your user agent to Symbian (in Via settings). But I tried this year and unfortunately most websites now will give SSL errors, or just got way too heavy for the less than 256MB of RAM available and will crash the device. Also, Google Play Services will take the entire space available (not in 2023, Google dropped support completely to even logging in).

But Google Maps, the latest version of the app for the OS being from 2014, still works with no data missing and all updated (but navigation, used to be a separate app, doesn’t and now doesn’t even connect to display the “update the app” message). I downloaded the map of my city and nearby on it, and used it to go to the repair shop twice to fix my real device like a non-digital map.

I see no reason to think it would use anything else than whatever is the WebView version on 2.3.7
To be honest I expected maybe it had something else. But you are right, it just uses a never updated very old build bundled in the OS.