Amazon Launches ‘Lite’ Android Browser

Amazon has quietly released a new browser for Android devices. The company’s new Android browser is simply called Internet, and it’s targetted towards emerging markets with a large number of cheap Android devices that usually don’t have a ton of storage.

Amazon says Internet comes in at less than 2 megabytes, while Chrome for Android comes in at more than 100 megabytes. Functionality wise, though, Internet is obviously way more limited. It includes a simple homepage with trending news, tab previews, a private browsing mode, and that’s about it. The browser is only available to users in India at the moment, and the app listing is curated for Amazon’s Indian audience with a focus on cricket and entertainment, reports TechCrunch.

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It’s still unclear whether Amazon will bring Internet to more countries, but this is a solid start. The browser interestingly isn’t under Amazon’s existing Silk browser brand, though it follows the recent trend of ultralight apps for cheap Android devices that started with Android Go.

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Conversation 3 comments

  • slbailey1

    18 April, 2018 - 1:06 pm

    <p>Can this browser run PWAs?</p>

  • jdmp10

    18 April, 2018 - 1:25 pm

    <p>Amazon, like any tech giant but more so because they're Amazon only enters ventures that can drive users to buy on Amazon and making that transaction happen as easy as possible. Does anyone here know how large Amazon's India presence is and Indian locals have an alternative to Amazon or is there an Indian version of Amazon that has a larger userbase?</p>

  • Wondering_Bard

    18 April, 2018 - 2:45 pm

    <p>Opera mini clocks in at only 7MB but actually offers proactive data saving features rather than just being a shit browser. Firefox Focus is less than 5MB, is privacy focused, and saves data by blocking a bunch of the stuff that takes up bandwidth. Once again, not trying to be "small" by being a shit browser. </p><p><br></p><p>Less than 2MB is cool but there's also certainly a hidden tradeoff of providing all of your search data to Amazon and getting whitelisted Amazon ads. </p>

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