Hello Samsung Internet 8.2 Beta 👋

The next major version of Samsung’s browser for Android is now being released for beta testing

“Eight (Explored)” by Nikos Koutoulas (CC BY 2.0)

Our new Beta version of Samsung Internet is now being rolled out on the Play Store and will be available to everyone (Android 5+) within the next few days. The current stable version of this major update, v8.0, has just started shipping now with the shiny new Galaxy Note 9. The Beta is an opportunity to check the same major version — and the minor version that will soon be released for all supported phones.

Here’s what’s new this time:

Faster file downloads

We have introduced a new optimised download system which can offer a significant speed improvement. Larger files** **now download in chunks using multiple, parallel connections. In our tests (depending on network availability and system configuration) we have observed this achieving a 15–40% speed improvement!

You should see this progress bar moving faster now!

Do Not Track

We have improved our options for user privacy by adding a* Do Not Track*** **option in the settings. This adds the Do Not Track header to requests, which asks websites not to track your browsing habits.

New ‘Do not track’ option in the Privacy settings

Quick Access transfer

Quick Access is one of the default homepages for Samsung Internet, which lets you visit your favourite sites with a single tap. You can now backup and restore your Quick Access items across devices with v8.2+, using Smart Switch.

A Quick Access page

Chromium engine upgrade

The core engine has upgraded from Chromium M59 in v7.x to Chromium M63 for v8.x. This introduces some really powerful features for web developers, including:

• JavaScript Modules (including dynamic imports)

• CSS properties such as font-display and overscroll-behaviour

• navigator.connection

If you have an Android 5+ device, we hope you will give the new Beta a try and let us know what you think!

Thank you to Ada Rose for helping to prepare this post. Updated 4th September to clarify details about Quick Access transfer.

By Peter O’Shaughnessy on September 3, 2018.

Read this article on Medium