I used Zen Browser for per week. Here is the way it went.

There are quite a lot of internet browsers on the market, however quite a lot of them have one factor in widespread. Many well-liked browsers resembling Google Chrome, Courageous, Microsoft Edge, and Arc Browser are all tied collectively by their base: Chromium. At their coronary heart, these browsers are all constructed off of Google’s Chromium base. So in case you’re desirous to decouple your self from Google, your two major choices are Safari and Firefox. Or no less than, they had been.

Just lately, the alpha of Zen Browser launched. Zen relies off of Firefox, and is totally open supply. For customers that need the privateness provided through the use of Firefox, but in addition need a top-notch browser expertise, Zen appears to be like to fulfill simply that area of interest. To actually put it by the ringer, I parted methods with Arc, and fully relied on Zen Browser for one week.

Set up, migration, and set-up

Get able to be taught Firefox buddy.

I’ll admit, proper off the bat, I’ve lengthy loved browser hopping. There’s simply one thing satisfying about switching browsers each on occasion. Some browsers make switching over a completely painless expertise. Others make it really feel like an absolute chore. Zen Browser lies someplace within the center.

The migration to Zen Browser isn’t dangerous per se, nevertheless it has all of the cons that include migrating to Firefox in case you’re used to a Chromium expertise. A lot of your favourite browser extensions merely aren’t going to return with you. The necessities, like an advert blocker or your password supervisor, will likely be out there. However, extra area of interest extensions are merely going to need to get left behind in your Chromium browser of selection.

That being stated, Firefox customers should not have any issues switching over to Zen Browser. The whole lot you already love about Firefox is already current, and Zen Browser serves to make the Firefox expertise higher.

After first putting in Zen Browser, which may be executed on Home windows, Mac, and Linux, you’ll be handled to a fast set-up that includes selecting a colour scheme and scrolling by a welcome web page. From there, the Zen Browser is your oyster.

The Zen Browser expertise

An awesome, customizable person interface.

Zen Browser, like most stylish browsers, opts for a vertical tab structure. It took me a very long time to provide vertical tabs an opportunity, however Vivaldi and Arc Browser have totally confirmed the idea for me. Simply the identical, Zen Browser’s vertical tabs structure is great and feels a lot better than something out there in commonplace Firefox.

And with regards to comparability to Firefox, Zen Browser does rather a lot to enhance on the bottom Firefox expertise. Other than simply vertical tabs, Zen Browser feels far more intuitive on the entire. Past pulling tabs off of it, Zen Browser offers an unimaginable facelift to Firefox’s menu bar, which retains the power to be custom-made.

The tab bar may be set to mechanically cover and present up everytime you hover close to it, and it additionally incorporates fast entry buttons to bookmarks, settings, and searching historical past. The tab bar additionally incorporates a profile switcher.

One of many best components of the Zen Browser is the neighborhood that has popped up round it. At its coronary heart, Zen Browser is a community-driven challenge. For these with any privateness considerations, Zen being closely community-oriented and open supply ought to assist to assuage any privateness fears. This neighborhood can present a ton of implausible assist when it comes to determining attention-grabbing configurations to bend the browser to your will. The neighborhood additionally makes implausible themes.

Zen Browser themes aren’t fairly just like the themes you may affiliate with Firefox. Zen Browser themes are aesthetic and useful tweaks to the UI. Whereas there aren’t a ton out there proper now, those which can be present quite a lot of promise for the browser’s future. The potential to tweak Zen’s UI till it’s precisely proper appears unimaginable, and the small style now we have of it now’s implausible. I’ve personally gotten nice use out of the Tremendous URL Bar theme, which makes your URL bar increase and turn out to be the main focus of your display whereas typing in it.

Other than the myriad of nice options of the UI, Zen Browser continues to be only a nice browser. You’ll don’t have any bother getting any of your primary searching wants executed with Zen Browser, and in case you’re a present Firefox person, it’s completely price trying out.

Would I change to Zen Browser completely?

Heaps and plenty of execs, a number of minor cons.

The Zen Browser, in my eyes, is sort of good. I’m typically very supportive of getting away from the grips of Chromium, however I additionally understand that there isn’t precisely an exhaustive record of viable options to a number of the hottest browsers in use right now.

Zen provides a good way to make use of Firefox in a way more glossy surroundings. And as a lot as I like that, I simply don’t assume I can keep it up. And it’s not Zen Browser, it’s me. I’m too used to my present set-up with Arc Browser. And going again to a extra conventional browser expertise simply doesn’t really feel proper anymore.

However, that is additionally certainly one of Zen Browser’s best strengths. Though I couldn’t make Zen behave within the actual methods I needed it to, there’s rather a lot you are able to do to make Zen Browser really feel practically precisely like what you need it to really feel like. I’ve no doubts that the way forward for Zen Browser appears to be like very vibrant, in no small half as a consequence of this customization. A browser that may be tweaked to your coronary heart’s content material to really feel nonetheless you might have considered trying it to really feel is a perfect that appears to be taking form with Zen.

For present customers of Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, I’ve zero reservations in full-heartedly recommending Zen Browser. When you can no less than give it a strive, I’m positive you’ll don’t have any points getting your ideally suited searching expertise out of the Zen Browser.