What is your default browser going into 2026, and when is the last time that changed?

@bkardell Vivaldi, and a couple of months ago. Before that the last change was when Phoenix renamed to Firefox...

@bkardell
I have an iPhone so it is Safari no matter what app icon I click.
At this rate it will never change not until the UK government listens to @owa and others fighting this fight.

@dletorey @bkardell @owa and yeah, on my phone it's safari, of course, because I have no choice. But next phone will be Android again, so that'll be another shift...

@sil @dletorey @owa I am not trying to argue the point, but - I mean, there is a _difference_ on ios, it's just at the same kind of level as Vivaldi vs any other chromium, right? It's not _pointless_ to adopt chrome or something there. Is vivaldi available on iOS?

@bkardell @dletorey @owa mmm... from my point of view, it's pointless, which is why I use Safari.
There are 4 things a different browser could potentially do, I think:
1. different web engine. Not permitted
2. different UI. Not much here I want, not enough to switch, but others may differ
3. cloud services -- bookmark/pw sync etc. I don't care about this
4. use OS features (e.g., web app install, others). On iOS, nothing can have MORE than Safari, and many things less.
So I haven't switched.

@bkardell @dletorey @owa now, I might be wrong here. There may be features that I want and which are provided by non-Safari iOS browsers and which I don't know about, and maybe I'd be glad to hear about them! And perhaps there are UI improvements that I would find better enough to switch browser if I tried them all. So this decision isn't set in stone. But while the important stuff is kept out of reach, a change of browser feels like repainting your car: it doesn't help with any actual problems.

@sil
Are browser extensions different? I see iOS Edge has an extensions listing, are they the same as mobile Safari's?

Other iOS browsers can include different A.I. shit, I'm sure that's compelling to someone.

BTW, there is Vivaldi for iOS.
@bkardell @dletorey @owa

@cwilcox808 that is a good question and I do not know the answer, although I suspect I do. I suspect that @brucelawson or @Vivaldi can comment: I assume that Vivaldi on iOS can’t run all the extensions that Vivaldi desktop is capable of running?

@bkardell @dletorey @owa

@sil @bkardell @dletorey @owa the iOS Safari UI is pretty crap as of 26. It's about bearable on my iPad but every time I load the phone simulator the bottom bar UI/UX irks me. They tried it before a few years and reverted in beta because it was so hated. So it's interesting that you find it... Usable? Maybe it's just me who has particularly aversion to that UI?

@Lukew I’m quite used to the address bar being at the bottom. Maybe I’ve been Stockholmed into it but I’m cool with it :)

@bkardell @dletorey @owa

@bkardell GNOME Web for several years now...

I'm quite happy with it, but I'm considering seeing what Dillo's like for me to use as my main!

@sil @bkardell @dletorey @owa

It's not so much it being at the bottom (I quite like that bit) it's the collapsed bar that they added. Where it becomes a weird pill that somewhat blocks your page contents but is also transparent in parts.

@Lukew aaah. iOS 26. I’m not running 26. Partially because partially transparent hazy glass is good for church windows but not for application windows, and partially because I am reliably informed that my correctly-sized iPhone 13 mini will struggle greatly to render this new UI and I don’t want to make the phone worse.

@bkardell @dletorey @owa

@sil @cwilcox808 @Vivaldi @bkardell @dletorey no, we can't (so build as much as we can into the browser, on top of the webkit black box)

The best thing I have read this year, written by @sil :
> transparent hazy glass is good for church windows but not for application windows
@Lukew @bkardell @owa

@sil @Lukew oh really? Ugh. I hadn’t upgraded (same phone) through normal laziness but now it sounds like I actively shouldn’t?

@dracos @Lukew so I am told, yup. I can't confirm it 'cos I haven't upgraded, so it might be wrong... but since you aren't allowed to downgrade, it's a one-way door and I am reluctant to walk through it

@sil
Oh that's a good point, I also have a 13 mini and nothing to replace it with.

My spouse did upgrade her 12 mini to iOS 26, I should try hers for a bit; I did see what was done to Safari's bottom bar and I don't like it.
@dracos @Lukew