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Load pages fast and save space on your phone with this stylish web browser

Load pages fast and save space on your phone with this stylish web browser

Vote: (2,571 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: UCWeb Inc.

Version: 12.12.10.1227

Works under: Android

Vote:

Program license

(2,571 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

UCWeb Inc.

12.12.10.1227

Works under:

Android

Pros

  • Lightweight web browser
  • Fast and streamlined
  • Many modern browser features

Cons

  • Speed mode hit and miss

UC Browser Mini – Smooth delivers a fast and lightweight mobile web browsing experience.

UC Browser is among the most popular mobile web browsing apps, and it’s becoming quite popular for desktop computing as well. As our mobile devices have gotten more powerful, our mobile web browsers have become more sophisticated. There was a time when low spec support was a given, but that isn’t the case anymore. Enter UC Browser Mini by UCWeb Inc.

UC Browser Mini is a fork of the main UC Browser mobile app that’s designed specifically for smartphones and other devices with relatively low specifications. Even if your old phone struggles to run most mobile web browser, it can probably run this one. This app can even get by with hardly any memory or storage available to it.

You may expect a lot of sacrifices due to the low spec nature, but that’s perhaps what’s most impressive about UC Browser Mini. The experience is comparable to UC Browser, and most of the concessions made are made behind the scenes and won’t generally affect your experience.

In fact, most of the modern web browser features you’ve come to expect are present. Surfing is fast and streamlined, and actions are chosen via navigation cards. There’s an incognito mode for protecting your privacy. A night mode makes it easier to read in the dark and suppresses audible disruptions. The app features smart downloading, data saving and gesture controls, including for video, and it has an integrated ad blocker.

Your home screen is made up of your most accessed web pages or sites you choose. You can create bookmarks as well as view your bookmarks and browsing history. There are convenient one-tap icons for Downloads, My Videos, Incognito and Tools.

There are some minor issues with UC Browser Mini. It can’t download anything to an SD card. You’ll have to do that manually, which is quite the annoyance and an odd oversight for an app designed specifically with storage limitations in mind.

Another issue is Speed Mode, which is great when it works. The goal of this component is to automatically fetch the most appropriate page based on your connection speed and phone specs. It can target mobile pages and even filter out bandwidth-intensive images and whatnot. The problem is that it doesn’t work with a lot of websites. We’d also like to see a bit more user control so that it’s easier, for instance, to block all images or all videos from a current browsing session.

Pros

  • Lightweight web browser
  • Fast and streamlined
  • Many modern browser features

Cons

  • Speed mode hit and miss