Firefox is making headlines with a brand-new Android browser with redesigned UI and extension support. Brave is taunting privacy functions as the User Selling Point for its browser. In short, both the browsers are making tall claims and are ready to take place as the default browser on your Android device. But which one is better? In this post, we will compare these two browsers on various factors such as User Interface, Privacy add-ons, features, Reading mode, Cross-platform availability, and more. Let’s get started.
Cross-Platform Availability
Cross-platform availability is essential in the browser game. After all, you would want to sync bookmarks, history, passwords, and extensions among the platforms. Brave browser is available on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. Firefox goes a step ahead. You can access the Firefox browser on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and even Linux. Download Firefox for Android Download Brave Browser for Android
User Interface
The recent crop of Android smartphones come with a taller aspect ratio. So, it’s only practical to design the UI with the bottom menu and options. Fortunately, the Brave and Firefox understand the current trend and implement the necessary changes to the respective interface of their browser. Starting with Brave, the standard options such as Home, Bookmark, Search, tab switcher, and more menu are at the bottom. The search bar may seem at the top, but it’s accessible from the bottom search menu. The home page offers a nice-looking wallpaper, which makes the experience even better. Firefox nails the user interface ease in its new Android browser. It appears that Firefox’s design complies with tall screens bearing phones and options, such as search bar, tab switcher, and Settings, rest at the bottom. The reachability is spot-on. You can also switch between tabs and enable private mode from the bottom menu. Firefox and Brave browser play nicely with the Android 10 dark theme.
Tab Switcher Menu
After several days or weeks, your web browser is going to fill up with dozens of tabs. The tab switcher menu plays an important role in your browsing experience. Brave offers a big stack of cards as tabs. When you tap on the tab switcher menu, it throws-in all the tabs with the ability to add a new one, close all tabs, and more. All the necessary options are at the bottom, which is a huge relief. Firefox’s tab switcher is one of the best I have ever seen. You can tap on the tab switcher menu and glance over the opened tabs from the bottom menu. I like how it doesn’t take up the whole screen and only uses the bottom half screen to let you switch between the tabs.
Web-Engine and Performance
I’m happy to report that Firefox has finally fixed the annoying scrolling bug with the new Android browser. Firefox runs the new GeckoView rendering engine to load webpages. With that and a couple of new settings, Mozilla claims to offer the highest level of privacy and security on the Android platform. Brave is a Chromium-based browser. I have had no problems with scrolling or loading performance on Chrome. It’s right up there with the Firefox browser.
Features and Privacy Options
Brave claims to be the most secure browser on Android. The browser offers something called Brave Shields. The Brave Shield blocks the ads and trackers from the webpages. It also provides (digital) fingerprint protection, block third-party cookies, and unnecessary scripts. You can tap on the Brave icon in the address bar at the top and take a look at the data. Brave has added Brave Rewards in the browser. Brave allows you to earn tokens BAT (Basic Attention Token) by viewing Brave ads. You will see the live value of these tokens from the above menu. Brave also offers you to reward creators using the earned rewards. Unfortunately, Brave misses out on Reading mode. You can sync the bookmarks, history, Brave rewards, saved addresses using the Brave account. Firefox offers a detailed Privacy report to block cross-site tracking cookies and social trackers. The enhanced tracking protection is set at Standard, by default. You can change it to Strict or custom too. Firefox has integrated a clean-looking reader mode. You can also change font style and size besides using the Add-ons as well. For starters, you can use uBlock Origin to block ads, Dark Reader extension to force dark theme everywhere, and a couple of other extensions. Right now, there are only nine extensions. But it’s better than what Brave offers. Other features include the ability to sync tabs, bookmarks, history, Collections (Firefox’s advanced Bookmark manager), and more.
Mozilla or Brave
After trying out and uninstalling Firefox every time, this is the first time Mozilla makes a strong case for the majority to try out their latest browser. It’s designed for the modern smartphone, offers class-leading performance and extension support. Brave fires back with a detailed Brave Shield report and Brave rewards function. Even though Brave slipped up by adding affiliate links in URLs, and the CEO apologized for that slip up, we think it’s worth a try. Next up: Firefox also offers a Firefox Focus browser on Android. Read the post below to find the comparison between the standard Firefox and Firefox Focus. The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
