Samsung phones have a web browser, Samsung Internet Browser, with many advanced functions that make navigation easier.
The leadership position among mobile manufacturers that Samsung has in many markets, including Spain, allows it licenses that other brands cannot have. One of them is put your apps together with Google’s. This is seen in apps such as Calls, Contacts or Calendar, but also in others such as the web browser.
Although Chrome is installed on the firm’s smartphones, a browser that has had a certain popularity among users of this company’s mobile phones also comes standard on many models. Samsung Internet Browser is its name and it has some features that even Chrome lacks.
That is why, although you usually use Chrome on a daily basis, if you have a device from this company, it is a good idea to know What this application is capable of, what are the most useful tricks and how to get the most out of it. And if you don’t have a Samsung or if a model doesn’t come preinstalled but you want to use it, you can download it from the Google Play Store.
Address bar position. Usability in mobile applications is important. It is not in vain that Google continues to change the design and aesthetics of Android, beyond aesthetic reasons. In the Samsung browser there is a very practical option that allows you to move the search and website introduction bar to the bottom, so you can use the app with one hand.
To activate it we just have to go to the Settings, which is the button with the horizontal stripes in the lower right corner, in a gear-shaped icon. There you have to select Design and Menus. One of the options in that section is Show address bar below. There are more options for modifying the interface, to activate it in case they facilitate the use of this app.
Letter size. Samsung is one of the brands that sells the most in countries like Spain, and in part it is because a large part of the older population views this company as a trusted brand. This makes users often value being able to enlarge the font size of their mobile phone, and in the case of an app like the web browser it is a good example.
To do this you have to go to the same button with the three stripes in the lower bar and there select the Text Size option. A slider bar will appear that starts at 100% and allows you to both increase and decrease the size of the letters. In addition, the change will be seen in real time at the top of the screen if a website is open.
Dark mode. Using the browser with dark mode favors its use in low-light environments, such as on a plane at night, or in bed itself. To activate it you have to go to the Settings option, Page view and scrolling and there enter Dark Mode.
You can select it to turn on, turn off, or do the same as the rest of the phone interface. Additionally, you can force a website to always show its dark mode in another section. In that case you have to go to Settings, Labs, Use website dark theme.
Ad blocker. The main reason why many users use this browser is because, unlike Chrome, it allows you to install ad blockers. To do this you have to go to the three stripes menu and select Ad Blockers. Several options will appear, and they can be downloaded directly from that section.
Create tab groups. If you have many tabs open when browsing, it is possible to group them thematically. To do this, you have to click on the windows icon in the bottom panel, the second one from the left. Then click on the three dots icon in the upper right corner, and there select the Group tabs option. After selecting them, they can be grouped by clicking on the icon at the bottom.
Extensions. Samsung’s browser behaves like a mini operating system by allowing the installation of small programs. Advertising blockers are an example, but there are more options, such as translators, interface modifiers for video websites, subtitles…
To install them you have to go to the bottom menu with the three lines, then to Add-ons and there select the one you want. In addition, it is advisable to browse the multiple options available, paid and free, by clicking on the button at the bottom. You can even search for exactly what you need, in case there is an extension for it.
secret mode. Many browsers have an incognito mode that allows you to browse without the usual tracking that websites do. Samsung’s browser takes this to another level with Secret Mode. To activate it you have to go to the tab group icon, the second one in the bottom bar from the left, and click on the three dots icon in the upper right corner.
There you have to select Secret Mode Settings. When you enter, you can activate this mode and set the password to use it, as well as if you want biometric data to be used as well. When this is done, a new option will appear inside to launch Secret Mode, and it will require the password that we have entered.
Reader Mode. This mode allows you to read the pages in text mode, without ads or aesthetic elements, perfect for those very long articles that require some concentration. To activate it you have to go to Menu, then Settings and then enter the Useful functions section. There you can enable the option Show Reader Mode Button. This button, in the form of lines of text, will appear in the address bar, next to the page reload arrow.
Video history. Samsung’s browser has always given a lot of importance to videos, which is why it has a History only for these elements. It is found in the Menu, History option, Video History section, perfect for not having to look at which website a certain element was viewed on.
Save web pages. Although you can save the websites to always have them at hand, in the Bookmarks, the Samsung browser also allows you to save the websites completely. To do this, click on the Menu when the website is open, select Add Pages To and then Saved Pages.
To go to those saved pages you just have to enter the Three Stripes Menu and select the option with that name. The improvement is that they can be consulted without having to have an Internet connection.
PIP mode. Like a good modern browser, when you are watching a video in this program, you can do so using the Picture in Picture mode, which leaves the video floating while you use other apps. To activate it, you just have to click on the third floating icon that appears when you watch a video on any website. The problem is that platforms like YouTube have this function disabled.
