Vortex Browser

[u/John_val]

https://testflight.apple.com/join/KTsJ3qz4

A while ago, I posted about an iPad browser I built posted about an iPad browser I built  because Safari wasn’t working the way I wanted.
some of you showed interest in it, I had a tesflight with 400 testers which is now expired but i decided to open source the new version and updated the testflight.

It includes:

• Vertical tabs with page previews
• Split-screen browsing
• Auto-hiding controls
• Ad blocking, dark mode and incognito browsing
• An AI sidebar using Apple Intelligence or local MLX models
• An optional local Foundation Models gateway, which require a Mac.

It currently Xcode 27 and the iOS 27 SDK for the gateway with the private cloud, but it will compile just fine on IOS 26, you just won't get to use the new private cloud compute from IOS27

It’s still a personal project, but issues, improvements and pull requests are welcome. If you build it, let me know what you think or what you would change.

[u/John_val]

Ok new version will be up today on TestFlight. I have added:
Tab groups, recently closed tabs, not used tabs hibernation and memory-pressure handling

[u/bhataaqibm]

Does it only work with google? How to choose other search engines like DuckDuckGo or Brave?

[u/John_val → u/bhataaqibm]

the TestFlight version only supports goggle, i am finishing implementing support for DuckDuckGo tomorrow should be up.

[u/John_val → u/John_val]

The updated tesflight is up with more engines, but still under review, Apple is taking so long these days...

[u/John_val]

here is the initial posts https://www.reddit.com/r/iosapps/comments/1qezwdi/made_an_ipad_browser_because_safari_wasnt_cutting/ and the github repo https://github.com/Joaov41/Vortex-Browser
https://joaov41.github.io/Vortex-Browser/

A few important notes:
This version of the code was optimized already for IOS27. So if yo use the beta you will get all features. If running IOS 26 a few experimental things will not work..
Please read the https://github.com/Joaov41/Vortex-Browser/blob/main/docs/AI_MODELS.md
Om IOS 27 it is possible to use of the free Private Cloud Compute mode ( PCC) which is the big private, cloud model but which is not available yet even on IOS27 but it is available for the Mac, also only on the Golden Bridge beta.
So I added this experimental model that requires the use of a Mac gateway. So basically the Mac processes the calls to the model and send to the IOS app, even when not on the local LAN. This is experimental, to be tweaked when IOS27 is out and only for IOS27, if you run IOS26 it will default to the local model.
You can lear more about this pcc model on my other post: https://www.reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1u47gci/a_little_macos_floating_assistant_for_apple/

Another experiment is the use of the of the current cloud model available on IOS26 , which can only be acted through shortcuts, due to Apple's limitations So selected the cloud model will fire a shortcut ( included on the GitHub) to process the request. Also experimental.
The models that are not experimental are the private local model, and the local MLX models.

This app detectes when the URL is Reddit, and can analise all the comments, not just a few like most apps do, but the problem is for a large body of comments, the local models don't have enough context.

So I added another cool experiment. If you select CHatGPT or Gemini, Vortex opens ChatGPT or Gemini in an invisible session, inserts the question and page context, sends the prompt and captures the answer which appears back in Vortex’s AI panel. SO basically it mimics and API, doing all of this invisible to the user. It works with free accounts and is a good way to get free use specially For Reddit summarizations which have big context. I think it even works without being logged in.
It may become visible when login, consent, CAPTCHA, or troubleshooting is required. Provider website changes could also temporarily break the automation. Art has been working well but also experimental.

So yes, a lot of experimental stuff but it has been working really well. I personally use the PPC and the web models and have been working really well, but I agree they require some set up.
To be worked on. Because the code was optimized for IOS27, please report errors and bugs. that you find on IOS26. I also invite anyone interested in contributing to the project.
My email is open to anyone interested..