AdBlock Plus is a name that most people already are familiar with, as they’ve become accustomed to the great adblocking services and acceptable ads program that the add-on offers. Until now, AdBlock Plus was present on Android and on desktop PCs, but never have they announced a product like what they’ve announced today. The AdBlock Browser for Android is now official, although it’s not finished yet. Today, we can get a glimpse of what’s coming our way in terms of browsing experience.

The official AdBlock Browser for Android in its full, final version is still ahead in time, as Ben Williams, PR and Communications manager at AdBlock Plus has confirmed. According to him, the final version of the new mobile browser will be ready for release in a month or two, but until then we have good news: you can try it out for yourself. AdBlock Plus is looking to make the new AdBlock Browser for Android your browser, so if you want to make this the adblocking browser you’ve been dreaming about, go ahead and become part of the Google+ community and check out the beta app that is already live. Once in the community, click the red Join button then head over to the About section and opt in for the beta.

AdBlock Browser for Android is a first for Eyeo, even though the AdBlock Plus for Android app has already been around for quite some time. The browser aims to be everything other browsers aren’t: it wants to eventually offer all the benefits of AdBlock Plus, including tracking blocking and of course, adblocking, all in one package. The team at Eyeo are set on making the entire concept of acceptable ads a given, and that’s what they are trying to popularize with the AdBlock Browser for Android.

If you’re curious about the new mobile browser for Android, you should definitely try out the beta and be sure to leave a lot of feedback for the team so that the finished app can be truly what users want. A lot of work went into the AdBlock Browser for Android and the team seems to be very confident in what they are trying to achieve. I’ve spoken to Ben Williams about the new app and there are some interesting things for it in the future, that’s for sure.

“I’m not entirely sure, but the AdBlock Browser for Android might get a desktop version, too.” That would be quite a blast to Google Chrome and Firefox, even though the new adblocking browser is based on Firefox 37. the latest version of the browser. According to Ben, the team will keep updating their browser as Firefox progresses to newer versions as well, so the number of features you will have at your disposal will not change that much.

“Sync and add-ons will not be available on the AdBlock Browser for Android, and neither will developer tools. But as the beta testing concludes, developer tools will be added later on.” When it comes to the UX, “we will change the look and feel of the browser, based on user feedback”, so we’re definitely looking forward to a personalized experience for all participants in the beta program.

Naturally, the first and biggest benefit of the AdBlock Android Browser is that it blocks ads automatically, as an integrated feature and it’s the first browser to do so. Nonetheless, the goal of the browser is to become a unified solution that will offer the user full control over their web experience, offer them acceptable ads if they choose, speeds up performance, lessens data usage and might even provide with better battery life.

Since AdBlock Plus is appreciated by both users and publishers for the Acceptable Ads program that they’ve instituted, this feature will be included in the AdBlock Browser for Android, and the criteria will remain the same, as well as the whitelisting process. “Publishers knew that we would eventually make a start in the mobile sphere and although they didn’t know it was a browser, it’s here and with it, it is easy to transplant the acceptable ads program onto mobile as a feature”.

In the first phases of development, the AdBlock Browser for Android will be available in English, but in the future, the browser will support all 35 languages that Mozilla Firefox does. What is intriguing about the browser itself is that it will improve Android performance, most likely. “Ads can take up 23 % loading time, so by loading less ads with the AdBlock Browser for Android, you will go easy on your data connection and your performance”. according to Ben and a Microsoft Research study concluded by scientists from the University of California . That sounds like good news to me.

“We want as many testers as we can get to tell us how to improve our browser. We have to see what users think about it and feedback is very valuable to us.” That being said, I urge you guys to go ahead and try the beta and provide feedback to AdBlock so the final version can be the one that everyone wants. The team will be fixing bugs and following user feedback before releasing the final version in a couple of months, so we’re definitely looking forward to that.