What Browser should we use on Android 5 (Lollipop)?

Eggcorn

@RealMat0s said in What Browser should we use on Old Versions of Android?:

outdated equipment in full use in the market. Not many have the tools/economy to upgrade, or in the simple case it is not needed.

It's not as outdated at you might think. It's a 2017 Fire Tablet, generated to get security updates through at least 2023. I was surprised to read that regular Android 5 got it's last security update in 2018, seeing as the Android 5 on my tablet is still getting security updates. Perhaps Fire tablets are the way to go, if you want a secure Android.

Edit: And yes, you can install the Google Play store onto a Fire tablet.

Stardust

Can you install LineageOS on it?

Latest Firefox with hardened settings + uBlock Origin.
And maybe start looking for the new tablet

Eggcorn

@Stardust said in What Browser should we use on Old Versions of Android?:

Can you install LineageOS on it?

LineageOS doesn't support Fire tablets. Which is unfortunate, because my other Fire tablet no longer gets security updates.

Latest Firefox with hardened settings + uBlock Origin.

I have been using Firefox with uBO's dynamic filtering on my tablet (I don't want any random website running JavaScript). Aside from Firefox crashing a couple of times, it's mostly been a pleasant experience.

But what do you mean by "hardened settings"? Also, I get the feeling that you're concerned about security on my tablet? Are you worried that it's insecure now, despite receiving security updates? Or are you just worried about it after it stops receiving security updates?

Stardust

@Eggcorn said in What Browser should we use on Old Versions of Android?:

But what do you mean by "hardened settings"?

mostly Privacy & Security settings in the FF UI

Also, I get the feeling that you're concerned about security on my tablet? Are you worried that it's insecure now, despite receiving security updates? Or are you just worried about it after it stops receiving security updates?

kinda both

Eggcorn

@Stardust Why are you worried that it's insecure now? No explanation needed for why you'd be worried about it after it stops getting security updates!

Stardust

@Eggcorn said in What Browser should we use on Old Versions of Android?:

Why are you worried that it's insecure now?

maybe because it's too old, well, I would be worried. Maybe it's okay as you say it is still getting updates

Eggcorn

@Stardust Still, that was a good idea about LineageOS. It won't work for my tablet. But it might fix this problem for other Android 5 tablets: If LineageOS can update them to Android 6 or above, then they'll be able to run Vivaldi.

Correct me if I'm wrong about this: Because LineageOS doesn't support my tablet, it's impractical for me to install LineageOS on it. There's no practical way for me to upgrade my tablet to Android 6 or above, unless Amazon (makers of the Fire tablet) or LineageOS produce an update for my tablet's model.

Eggcorn

@RealMat0s Good news, Opera Mini still gets updates on Android 5. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the other editions of Opera.

Catweazle

@Eggcorn , it's really a problem and I think the best solution is to update if possible or change the OS, when you want to use Vivaldi in your tablet ((Vivaldi in Windows 95 in the PC?).
In case of problems with a soft, the first thing I look if there are alternatives, and Android has a lot of other alternatives apart from LinageOS. Maybe one of these are capable to run Vivaldi in your tablet.

Eggcorn

@Catweazle Oh, I do keep my tablet updated! But none of the updates from Amazon (the makers of the Fire tablet) have upgraded my Android to version 6 or above.

As for changing the operating system: I looked though some of those operating systems in the link you gave, and they didn't seem to support Fire tablets.

Eggcorn

The following browsers still get updates on Android 5, as of March 2022. I'll include APK mirror links, so you can check if they're still updated on Android 5 by the time you read this.

Opera Mini (APKM) - Only Opera Mini, other Operas don't get updates on Android 5.
Firefox (APKM)
Firefox Focus (APKM)
Puffin Web Browser (APKM) - Unlike the others, this one get updates on Android 4.4 and above. I don't know if "Puffin Browser Pro" or "Puffin Incognito Browser" get updates Android 5, as those don't show up on the APK Mirror. No longer supports Android 5.
~~Maxthon browser (APKM)~~ - No longer supports Android 5.
~~Mi Browser (APKM)- By Xiaomi, a computer company nicknamed "The Apple of China".~~ No longer supports Android 5.

sgunhouse

@Eggcorn In my experience, most tablets only get 1 or 2 version updates. My older tablet is still at Android 7; I haven't looked at the version number on this one.

Eggcorn

@RealMat0s According to APK Mirror: 4.3.2439.72 is the last stable Vivaldi to run on Android 5, and 4.4.2465.3 is the last snapshot (through as I said, I wouldn't recommend an outdated browser).

On a related note: I'm increasingly impressed with APK Mirror; it's helped me a lot to figure out what apps work on Android 5.

Catweazle

@Eggcorn, one thing is that Amazon does not update the OS and another thing is to try to do it yourself, to remember that Android is also FOSS and available to install it. It is rather the question which version of Android your tablet supports, not necessarily the one provided by Amazon.
https://www.maketecheasier.com/turn-amazon-fire-tablet-into-stock-android-device/
https://www.wikihow.com/Install-Android-on-Kindle-Fire

Stardust

@Eggcorn said in What Browser should we use on Old Versions of Android?:

Correct me if I'm wrong about this: Because LineageOS doesn't support my tablet, it's impractical for me to install LineageOS on it.

Yes. Maybe check the xda-developers forum for unofficial LineageOS version. Sure you have to trust the developer.

Eggcorn

@Catweazle said in What Browser should we use on Old Versions of Android?:

It is rather the question which version of Android your tablet supports, not necessarily the one provided by Amazon.

How would I know which version of Android my tablet supports?

Catweazle

@Eggcorn , consulting the min sys specs from the OS. I have an old Mobile Alcatel 1 c with 1Gb RAM and I use Android 8.1 without problems

Eggcorn

@Catweazle Min sys specs? You mean the minimum amount of disk space, memory, etc. needed to run the Android version I want to install? I thought there was more to it than just specs. My understanding is: Tablet hardware doesn't have the standardization that laptop and desktop hardware have.

So, no matter the specs: You can't just take a stock Android, install it onto any tablet, and expect it to work. The Android must be modified to work on that particular model of tablet. That's why tablet-manufactures are so bad at applying security updates. That's why LineageOS has tablets they support, and tablets they don't.

Am I wrong, do I have an exaggerated impression of how poorly stock Android works on any old tablet?

Eggcorn

@Eggcorn I've ran into problems with Firefox on Android 5. ~~It's crashed quite a few times.~~ And when I leave a tab, it reloads the tab, which makes it exceedingly difficult to copy-and-paste from one tab to another!

I'm trying Opera Mini now. No crashes, and I think it's not reloading tabs automatically the way Firefox does. But unlike Firefox with uBlock Origin, I don't think there's a way to block JavaScript.

Edit: The Firefox crashing is, apparently, a bug that was corrected in the latest update.

Eggcorn

@Catweazle said in What Browser should we use on Android 5 (Lollipop)?:

I use Android 8.1 without problems

Unless I'm mistaken: Android 8 isn't getting security updates anymore. Isn't it dangerous to have an Android 8 computer connected to the Internet? Unless you have a distribution that's still getting security updates, rather than vanilla Android 8.