At a point in time when web pages have stopped merely hosting content and now look more like fully-fledged applications interacting with their users in more ways than one; when websites no longer redirect their visitors to other places on the internet to give them what they need – web browsers cannot remain the same square windows through which to look at 'carved-in-stone' content.
Facebook.com users, for instance, can now watch a video right in their timeline, play music and talk to their friends. Soundcloud.com isn't just a music hosting website, it offers their visitors nearly professional music recording, streaming and sharing experience, complete with advanced search functions and equaliser settings. In the existing environment, when most web-based resources – from social networking websites to newspapers to shopping platforms – are expected to have their mobile reincarnation as an app, the role of the desktop browser, as well as its look and feel, cannot remain the same.
In response to and accordance with the evolutionary change of the web, Yandex releases a new alpha version of its browser. The new streamlined Yandex.Browser is a new step in its evolution. It reflects the current trend in web user experience, which puts an emphasis on interaction and personalisation. The new Yandex.Browser lets users experience the web directly, while offering secure protection from the darker side of the internet. It is designed to respond to all the current needs of a web user, which aren’t limited to mere browsing, but now also include shopping, reading websites in a foreign language, booking flights, trains, taxies or hotel rooms and restaurant tables.
With its transparent interface merging into each new web page viewed by the user, Yandex.Browser now also serves as an instant information source providing answers to some of the most popular queries. After typing a search in the browser’s smartbox, the user can see a snippet about what they are searching for – a thing, a product, a person or an event – without even having to look at the search results page. The default search engine in the new, also Chromium-based, Yandex.Browser is, naturally, provided by Yandex, but can be changed to some other search provider from a list in the browser’s settings. To reflect the idea of a website as a standalone web application, tabs in the new browser are now displayed at the bottom of the screen.
All the features unique to the classic version of Yandex.Browser, including favourite websites panel (known locally as ‘Tableau’), the browsing quality enhancing ‘Turbo’ mode, the document viewer, are available in the new version.
By bringing all these changes to our browser, we're hoping to make the internet more user-friendly for everyone. The new Yandex.Browser is a weighty contribution to our goal of creating a smart and transparent environment for a happy and comfortable internet experience. Instant page view, 'pages as apps', see-through user interface, rich search results, personalisation, integrated Yandex products and services and many more – are all implemented in the new Yandex.Browser, a trailblazer for the future of internet experience. With user feedback, we're hoping to understand how well we're faring on this path
The new alpha version of Yandex.Browser is currently available for download for Windows and OS X devices.