MATRIX.md

Table of Contents

• Matrix of supported devices and browsers
  • Synopsis
  • Measuring popularity
  • Scope omission
    • Concise list of links to High level supported browsers
    • Support level decisions
  • Matrix
    • Legend
    • iOS Tablets
    • iOS Smartphones
    • Android Tablets
    • Android Smartphones

Matrix of supported devices and browsers

Synopsis

Popular browsers in Europe and America are not cluttered, e.g. there is single Chrome for Android and single Chrome for iOS and both can be found on Google Play and Apple iTunes respectively. But popular browsers in APAC is completely different story...

Looks like Google Play is banned in China and browser's manufactures have to distribute their browsers directly from their websites or from alternative app stores. Although Google tries to get back to China with its Google Play, it is still not there. But I have no reliable info, some says that free apps are available there, it is also not present in the list on wiki, but then it's not clear why uc.cn gives direct link to .apk for Chinese version of UC Browser instead of uploading it to Google Play. Apple iTunes is not banned but censored.

And also there are different versions of the "same" browser (just try to search for "baidu browser" and you will see).

Measuring popularity

Time is most valuable resource for humans, that's why we need to prioritize and focus on what matters most. In context of this library - high prio support should be given only to really popular browsers, but for this we need to have information and figures.

There are lots of tools and companies which exposes stats with StatCounter possessing the largest amount of data, but it's not so obvious as it might seem, and here are the top reasons why:

1. At least China is a separate world (and it has almost 1/5 of the total population of our planet), they have their own Google Baidu, own WhatsApp WeChat (see list), own eBay Alibaba, own McAfee Qihoo 360, and even own Wikipedias Baike.com / Baidu Baike - mostly because all usual to us services are blocked there. And most probably they have their own StatCounter and I more than sure mobile browsers market share there will be pretty different from that shown by StatCounter...
2. Still Chrome looks like global leader, but did anyone considered/noticed that more and more browsers are starting to report user-agent strings completely exact as Chrome does? Just install QQ browser and open http://whatsmyuseragent.org/ in both browsers and try to find the difference. Same goes for 360 Secure Browser:

As of 2017, the latest versions of 360 Secure Browser do not offer distinguishable user-agent string. It spoofs itself either as Google Chrome or Internet Explorer, making it difficult for developers to target or identify.

So... are we still so sure about market share figures?

Scope omission

So let's try to list exact browsers with exact links and try to see if we have any exact figures associated with exactly those browsers. Google Play gives us downloads count, while Apple iTunes gives only reviews count which unfortunately has nothing to do with downloads, but at least can be used to compare products relatively to each other. Windows 10 Mobile is intentionally unsupported as:

Sales have decreased rapidly since its release, to the point of Windows 10 Mobile being considered irrelevant in the mobile operating system landscape.

And thanx God we don't have to support buggy IE Mobile 🪲.

Apple's iPod Touch is not in the scope also.

Information is based on the October 2017 📆 landscape and sorted according to Mobile Browser Market Share Worldwide:

Group	OS	Designed for device class	Unique browser ID & install link	Market browser name	Downloads / reviews count	Version & latest release date	Support level
Chrome			chr-for-and	Google Chrome	💾 1b+ ⭐ 8m+	v61 2017-09-25	📈 High
			chr-for-ios	Google Chrome	⭐ 56k+	v61 2017-09-05	📈 High
Safari			safari	Safari	-	v10.3.3 2017-07-19	📈 High
UC			uc-en-for-and	UC Browser	💾 100m+ ⭐ 15m+	v11.4.8.1012 2017-10-14	📈 High
			uc-mini-for-and	UC Browser Mini	💾 100m+ ⭐ 3m+	v11.0.0 2017-10-13	📉 Low
			uc-cn-on-g-play	UC浏览器	💾 5m+	v10.10 2016-07-03	❌ Not supported
			uc-cn-for-and	UC	?	v11.6.8.9 2017-09-05	📈 High
			uc-hd-en-for-and	UC Browser HD for Tablet	💾 10m+	v3.4 2015-09-29	❌ Not supported
			uc-en-for-ios	UC Browser	⭐ 1k+	v10.9.1.998 2017-07-25	📈 High
			uc-cn-for-ios	UC浏览器	⭐ 218k+	v11.6.5.1022 2017-10-14	📈 High
			uc-hd-en-for-ios	UC Browser +	?	v2.4.0.367 2014-02-12	❌ Not supported
			uc-hd-cn-for-ios	UC浏览器HD	⭐ 80	v3.0.1.776 2017-03-30	📉 Low
Samsung  Browser			sam-bro-and	Samsung Internet Browser	💾 100m+ ⭐ 206k+	v5.4.21.54 2017-08-21	📈 High
Opera			opr-and	Opera browser	💾 100m+ ⭐ 2m+	v43.0.2246.x 2017-09-27	📈 High
			opr-mini-and	Opera Mini	💾 100m+ ⭐ 4m+	v30.0.2254.x 2017-09-22	📉 Low
			opr-mini-ios	Opera mini web browser	⭐ 83k+	v16.0.3 2017-10-16	📈 High
Android    Stock			and-stk	Internet	-	-	📈 High
Firefox			ff-for-and	Firefox Browser	💾 100m+ ⭐ 2.9m+	v56.0 2017-09-28	📈 High
			ff-for-ios	Firefox web browser	⭐ 3k+	v9.2 2017-10-11	📉 Low
360   Secure  Browser			360-sec-cn-for-and (from official site)	360浏览器	?	v8.2.0.110 2017-09-07	📈 High
			360-sec-cn-hd-for-and	360安全浏览器	💾 100k+ ⭐ 0.5k+	v1.1.0 2012-12-27	📉 Low
			360-sec-cn-for-ios	360手机浏览器	⭐ 0	v4.0.4 2017-05-19	📉 Low
			360-sec-cn-hd-for-ios	360浏览器HD	⭐ 0	v4.1.1 2017-10-12	📉 Low
QQ			qq-en-for-and	QQ news feed web browser	💾 100k+ ⭐ 2.8k+	v1.2.0.x 2017-02-21	📈 High
			qq-cn-for-and	QQ浏览器	💾 1m+ ⭐ 12k+	v7.9.0.x 2017-09-30	📈 High
			qq-cn-for-ios	QQ浏览器	⭐ 2k	v7.8.0 2017-09-20	📈 High
			qq-cn-hd-for-ios	QQ浏览器HD	⭐ 1k	v6.1.1 2017-10-04	📉 Low
			qq-cn-hd+-for-ios	QQ浏览器HDPlus	⭐ 0	v5.0 2015-11-18	❌ Not supported
DU			du-en-for-and	DU Browser	💾 10m+ ⭐ 1m+	v6.4.0.4 2016-03-31	📈 High
			du-mini-en-for-and	DU Browser Mini	💾 1m+ ⭐ 19k+	v1.12.23 2016-12-23	📉 Low
			du-hd-en-for-and	DU Browser for Tablet	💾 1m+ ⭐ 76k+	v1.9.0.2 2015-04-09	📈 High
			du-cn-for-and(from official site)	百度手机浏览器	?	v7.15.15.0 ?	📈 High
			du-search-info-cn-for-and	百度推荐	💾 10k+ ⭐ 80	v1.1.0.10 2017-10-11	📉 Low
			du-cn-for-ios	百度浏览器	⭐ 9	v4.10 2017-09-20	📉 Low
			du-search-cn-for-ios	手机百度	⭐ 188	v9.3.5 2017-10-03	📉 Low
			du-hd-cn-for-ios	百度HD	⭐ 73	v5.4.0 2017-04-08	📉 Low
			du-hd-old-cn-for-ios	百度浏览器HD	⭐ 0	v2.4 2014-09-09	❌ Not supported

In China there is no single marketplace for apps, so we should rely on browser manufacturer's official websites.

Concise list of links to High level supported browsers

• : chr-for-and, uc-en-for-and, uc-cn-for-and, sam-bro-and, opr-and, and-stk, ff-for-and, 360-sec-cn-for-and, qq-en-for-and, qq-cn-for-and, du-en-for-and, du-cn-for-and
• : chr-for-and, uc-en-for-and, uc-cn-for-and, sam-bro-and, opr-and, and-stk, ff-for-and, 360-sec-cn-for-and, qq-en-for-and, qq-cn-for-and, du-en-for-and, du-cn-for-and, du-hd-en-for-and
• : chr-for-ios, safari, uc-en-for-ios, uc-cn-for-ios, opr-mini-ios, qq-cn-for-ios
• : chr-for-ios, safari, opr-mini-ios

Support level decisions

• 📈 High - means this library will aim to support this browser in the first place
• 📉 Low - means the browser may be supported in the second place (if all High browsers are supported)
• ❌ Not supported - no sense to support (e.g. browser has 0 rating in iTunes and/or last updated version is years ago) or technically impossible (e.g. browser was removed from marketplace and may still exist on some devices if it was installed previously)
• Beta versions are not supported for obvious reasons
• Browsers which are not present anymore on marketplaces and was updated years ago even if there are direct links from manufacturer's sites to them (e.g. uc-hd-en-for-and) - are not supported; let's face it - Web is evolving very quickly so such browsers will be left behind anyway...
• Mini versions of browsers (opr-mini-and, uc-mini-for-and, etc) are not compatible/relevant (except opr-mini-ios) by their nature with functionality covered by this library (any dynamic behaviour on the page even simplest checkboxes and buttons - will trigger request to manufacturer's serving server and subsequent page reload)
• 360-sec-cn-for-ios even though looks healthy (links from manufacturer's website point to iTunes and it actually available there + releases are recent), but it has 0 ratings, so it means no one uses it - that's why level of support is Low (actually the same as with uc-hd-cn-for-ios)
• Low level or unsupported level get most of iPad specific browsers (e.g. ff-for-ios, qq-cn-hd-for-ios) - even 3k of ratings are very low level of popularity comparing to others
• Browsers which are available only via direct links from web sites - have to get High level of support due to absence of download count information

Matrix

Legend

• 👍 - Browser's readings on this device is present in the spreadsheet and is either falls into default group or exceptional one, and everything which goes to the spreadsheet - should also be reflected in the code if needed
• N/A - Browser does not exist on corresponding device
• ❓ - Browser does exist on corresponding device (and supported by the lib), but it's readings are not present in the spreadsheet, so it is unknown if lib will work correctly there
• 🚧 - Readings are going to be taken and support to be added to code if needed

iOS Tablets

	chr-for-ios	safari	opr-mini-ios
iPad with 12.9″ (Pro 12.9)	👍	👍	👍
iPad with 10.5″ (Pro 10.5)	👍	👍	👍
iPad with 9.7″ (5-th gen - 1-st gen, Pro 9.7, Air 2 - Air)	👍	👍	👍
iPad with 7.9″ (Mini 4 - Mini)	👍	👍	👍

iOS Smartphones

	chr-for-ios	safari	uc-en-for-ios	uc-cn-for-ios	opr-mini-ios	qq-cn-for-ios
iPhone with 5.8″ (X)	❓	👍	❓	❓	❓	❓
iPhone with 5.5″ (8 Plus, 7 Plus, 6(S) Plus)	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍
iPhone with 4.7″ (8, 7, 6(S))	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍
iPhone with 4.0″ (5(S/SE/C))	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍
iPhone with 3.5″ (4(S), 3G(S) - 1st gen)	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍	👍

• iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus - are checked in Xcode simulator with Safari only

Android Tablets

	chr-for-and	uc-en-for-and	uc-cn-for-and	sam-bro-and	opr-and	and-stk	ff-for-and	360-sec-cn-for-and	qq-en-for-and	qq-cn-for-and	du-en-for-and	du-cn-for-and	du-hd-en-for-and
Galaxy Tab 4 10.1″	👍	👍	🚧	❓	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy Tab 3 10.1″	👍	🚧	🚧	N/A	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy Tab 2 10.1″	👍	🚧	🚧	N/A	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Nexus 7 2013	👍	🚧	🚧	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Lenovo Tab 2 A7-30	👍	🚧	🚧	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧

Android Smartphones

	chr-for-and	uc-en-for-and	uc-cn-for-and	sam-bro-and	opr-and	and-stk	ff-for-and	360-sec-cn-for-and	qq-en-for-and	qq-cn-for-and	du-en-for-and	du-cn-for-and
Galaxy S8	👍	🚧	🚧	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S7 Edge	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S7	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S6 Edge	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S6	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S5	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	❓	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S4	👍	👍	❓	👍	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy S3	👍	❓	❓	NA	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy A7 2017	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy Note 5	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy Note 4	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	❓	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy Note 3	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	❓	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Galaxy Note Edge	👍	❓	❓	👍	🚧	❓	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Pixel	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Pixel XL	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Nexus 5X	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Nexus 6P	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
LG G6	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
LG G5	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	N/A	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
LG G4	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
LG G3	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
LG G2	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	❓	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Lenovo A850	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Lenovo A889	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	👍	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧
Xiaomi Mi3	👍	❓	❓	N/A	🚧	❓	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧	🚧