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Allyson Kazmucha
From Flash support to Google sync, to powerful social sharing features, these are the best web browser apps for iPhone!
Looking for the best iPhone apps to take your web browsing in a new direction? Perhaps you don't use Safari on your desktop and want to sync with Google instead? Maybe you want a way to play Flash videos like it's 2007, or an easier to way to share more things with more people? No matter what the reason, the App Store is full of browser apps. But which one is the very best?
Google Chrome
Chrome can't use Google's Blink HTML engine or V9 JavaScript engine on iOS, but it can still sync all your Chrome bookmarks, all your Chrome preferences, and all the other information from all your other instances of Chrome, whether they're on your Mac, PC, or iPad. Since Chrome is available on pretty much every platform, it's a great universal option.
If you prefer Google syncing and content services over Apple's, you want Chrome.
- Free - Download Now
Puffin Web Browser is one of the most feature packed web browsers you're going to find for iPhone. Not only does it support bookmark and tab syncing across other Puffin browser instances, it supports Flash. Beyond that, the game pad controls in Puffin not only make it possible to play Flash games on your iPhone, it actually makes the experience rather enjoyable. Puffin also lets you easily toggle desktop and mobile versions a lot easier than many other browser options.
If you want game controls or Flash support, you need the full version of Puffin.
- $3.99 - Download Now
Mercury Browser Pro is a fan favorite mainly because of its versatility. Mercury not only syncs bookmarks and other datas with other instances of Mercury, but also with versions of Firefox and Chrome. That means there's very little leg work on your end when it comes to making sure your content is available across devices. Maniupating files and media in Mercury is also one of the most desktop like experiences you'll get. Download, share, open in new tabs, and pretty much anything else you can do on a desktop, you can do with Mercury Browser Pro.
- $0.99 - Download Now
Aside from having one of the best interfaces of any browser I've ever used, Dolphin Browser has a lot of unique features that make it more convenient and easy to use than Safari. The most notable is the Dolphin Sonar feature that lets you speak queries in just a tap for a one time $0.99 in-app purchase. You can also draw gestures in order to complete actions. Create your own to navigate to your favorite sites with a flick of your finger. Dolphin Connect also lets you sync bookmarks and content to other instances of Dolphin as well as communicate with extensions inside Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.
If you want a beautiful browser with lots of shortcut and accessibility options, Dolphin is hands down the best choice.
- Free - Download Now
iCab Mobile packs a powerful punch in a tiny package. What really sets iCab Mobile apart from other browsers is its Dropbox integration as well as its ability to upload files. Not many browsers can match that and for those who want true desktop browsing on their iPhones, it doesn't get much better than iCab Mobile.
For Dropbox integration for downloads and file upload support, look no further than iCab Mobile.
- $1.99 - Download Now
If you've booted Safari to the curb, what browser took its place? Was it one of the ones listed above or something else? Be sure to let me know in the comments!
See also: Best web browsers for iPad: Google Chrome, Dolphin, Mercury, and more!
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