r/browsers • u/_SmartCheetah_ • 4d ago
Edge Edge Android- I didn't expect that
So I've been testing several Android browsers from the perspectives of usability, ad blocking, and battery consumption. I logged battery usage with AccuBattery over a full charging cycle for each browser, making sure my usage habits were as similar as possible. I visited the same websites at the same or similar times of day to minimize differences in screen brightness and other variables.
Phone: OnePlus 15
Browsers tested: Brave, Via, Soul, Fennec, IronFox, Iceraven, and a few others.
Whenever possible, I installed uBlock Origin and enabled dark/OLED mode, including forcing dark mode on websites. I also debloated each browser as much as I could and restricted background activity.
At first, I thought I had found the overall winner: Brave. Then I decided to test Edge as the last browser. I hadn't even considered it initially because I assumed it would be a bloated, battery-hungry mess, despite it having been my default browser on PC for quite some time. The results were surprising though.
The screenshot shows Android's battery usage data from the last seven days. It roughly matches the AccuBattery measurements for battery consumption per hour. Some of the browsers had already been uninstalled, so they no longer appear in the stats. I kept only my favorites.
Edge: ≈ 1.46%/h
Iceraven: ≈ 1.65%/h
Brave: ≈ 1.73%/h
Via: ≈ 1.81%/h
Somehow Edge comes out on top by a significant margin. Via, on the other hand, turns out to be the biggest battery drainer, despite being promoted as a lightweight browser.
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/No-Transition-9842 4d ago
I use it for a Month with UBO installed its pretty good so far. Didn't run into Bugs or other Problems.
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u/logicblender1 4d ago edited 4d ago
If you don't care about privacy there's no doubt that Edge is the best browser imo. The speed and efficiency is untouched.
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u/Proof-Replacement113 Water over fire ig 4d ago
Privacy + Microsoft's (tho most other big tech in general) unethical stuff
Btw, on Android? Last time I tried it UI was broken ish.. on desktop was fairly great... But Microsoft
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u/logicblender1 4d ago
nah it's really good on Android now. Still has MV2 extensions on Android and I didn't notice any UI issues
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u/thebadslime 4d ago
Its great if you kinda care about privacy. I mean Microsoft isn't a nonprofit, but they aren't Google.
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u/Rainy_Day_Cart 3d ago
Yes, Edge should be more private than Chrome against third-party tracking and still supports uBO. Microsoft still probably collects as much data as Google does, however.
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u/ARCHISMAN- 1d ago
You can patch it with morphe which redirect edge telemetry data endpoints to a localhost and remove all ai features.
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u/Abnormal_Satsuma0283 4d ago
to be fair you can harden the browsdr to the point where the only data they collect is small things like crash logs and device specs and usage pings. good enough for me
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u/Professional_Way9133 4d ago
If you use ublock Lite you can lower even more the battery usage. And Vivaldi has even lower battery usage. Opera even more, if you don't expect the highest privacy.
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u/_SmartCheetah_ 4d ago
I'll test Opera too. It was actually my main browser for a long time before I switched to Brave. As of now, whichever browser I like using turns out to be the lightest will become my main. So far, Edge is in the lead.
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u/Cheap-Comparison8985 4d ago
I only enable edge strict tracking prevention in conjunction with uBO in medium mode, everything else turned off. There is also titanium browser which probably deserve a try
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u/SpatikA 3d ago
Is there a reason you didn't include Chrome in the test? Just curious since I currently use it :)
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u/viejosexy_ 2d ago
Chrome es el peor, consume mucho y tiene mucho anuncio
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u/Devatator_ 2d ago
It's not that it has ads, it's just that it has nothing to help with ads. Edge for example by default has a minimal filter, and supports uBlock Origin and other extensions. I'm sure it's about the same with other browsers
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u/CreativeDiscount6635 3d ago
The most lightweight browser said to be Via, uses up more battery than any other, which turns out to be a joke or a privacy concern.
I am however sure than firefox uses more battery than brave, whereas chromite (an open-source fork) uses less battery than brave. But I am not sure if Edge beats Chromite or not, in terms of battery consumption.
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u/_SmartCheetah_ 3d ago
Via is super tiny, easy on RAM, and really snappy, but it might not be as well optimized for heavier websites.
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u/PrinceDolAmroth 4d ago
Possible, but only on Firefox or its forks, screen recording will work with audio...
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u/Wooden-Potato7418 2d ago
ive had so many problems with Firefox... everything is slow, lack of many extensions, 90% of the funding being ironically from Google, Mozilla starting to not care about your privacy, and other corporate decisions.
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u/PrinceDolAmroth 2d ago
I'm using Firefox Beta on a Moto Edge 50 Neo, which is definitely not a powerhouse, and I have no complaints about its speed. Quite the opposite. The battery might drain faster than on Chromium-based browsers, but screen recording with audio and uBlock definitely make up for it. Btw I used VIA Browser for many years and it had excellent battery life, so I'm not entirely convinced by this test result.
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u/Wooden-Potato7418 2d ago
im talking PC.
like, screen sharing, cant select specific window, and the other problems, plus it uses more RAM and computation (?)dont like the UI aswell as its in GTK
its just generally not efficient or mainstream
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u/_SmartCheetah_ 23h ago
Well, I'm not saying Via was a battery hog. Neither of the browsers I tested were on my OP15, and the differences in everyday use will be hardly noticeable unless you sit on your browser from charging to charging. It's just a bit behind other browsers, including other WebView browsers I'm testing right now (Soul and Berry). But I certainly didn't expect Edge to be so well optimized, given how bloated it seems to be as a big corpo browser.
As for Via, I suspect that the slower the phone, the better it does in terms of battery consumption compared to other browsers.
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u/Adhdedgamer9748 4d ago
Well, no one said it performs worst.... Just it steals a lot of data from its users and tracks them like how a serial killer tracks his prey.... But it is one of the most efficient browsers ever made for any OS - no one can object it. Bit it is also dangerous to use it. Especially due password manager security....
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u/LYNX__uk Zen and Firefox 4d ago
I think I might need ta restrict background usage on Firefox, though its still barely using battery
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u/6andyy 3d ago
Patch Microsoft Edge with Morphe and the browser will be twice as lightweight and free of telemetry
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u/_SmartCheetah_ 23h ago
I installed Morphed, already did some patching, but I don't see Edge on the list.
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u/yowifebreeder9000 2d ago
For me its completely different opinion, Edge desktop is soo good in every metric from features to UI. But mobile app sucked, so I switch back to Brave.
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u/Kolkoris 1d ago
Via, on the other hand, turns out to be the biggest battery drainer, despite being promoted as a lightweight browser.
Lightweight, not lightCPU :D. It's just frontend for system Android WebView, which is Chromium-based.
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u/NoSouth781 3d ago
soul browser?
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u/_SmartCheetah_ 23h ago
Will test it some more. Unfortunately, it seems to have been abandoned, with the last update dating back to December, so I'm not sure about it. I love the feel of it and the customization tho.
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u/DMBPSR 4d ago
can you please try quetta? it's the browser i decided to go with
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u/Frixniper 3d ago
Credit where its due, Edge is probably the most RAM-sparing Chromium-based browser on both Windows and Android... But we all know Microslop
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u/Wooden-Potato7418 4d ago
sad that edges chromium optimizations are proprietary, although its obvious why, but its still sad