Asus To Integrate Adblock Plus Into Mobile Browser
David Murphy / PC Magazine :
Context & Ripple Effects
Adblock Plus spent 2015 building distribution the hard way: first shipping an Adblock Browser built on Firefox for Android in May, then a standalone free browser on Android and iOS in September. The Asus deal changes the model entirely — rather than asking users to download a separate browser, Adblock Plus gets preinstalled and switched on by default in the proprietary browser that ships on Asus mobile devices starting early 2016.
That makes Asus the first major hardware maker in this coverage to bake blocking into its default browsing experience rather than leaving it to user choice, and it set up the pattern that Samsung followed weeks later when it updated its own Android browser to support third-party ad-blocking plugins (Samsung's ad-block plugin support).
First-order effects
- Asus device owners get ad blocking active out of the box with no download or setup, immediately shrinking the audience that sees ads in the browser Asus ships.
- Adblock Plus converts its distribution problem overnight: instead of competing for downloads against stock browsers, it becomes part of one.
Second-order effects
- Samsung responds within weeks by opening its own browser to third-party ad-blocking plugins, signaling that OEM-level blocking is becoming a competitive feature among Android handset makers rather than an Adblock Plus-only play.
- Publishers and ad networks face mobile traffic where a growing share arrives through browsers configured to strip ads before pages load, pressuring mobile ad pricing for inventory served to Asus and Samsung devices.
Third-order effects
- If preinstallation spreads across Android vendors, ad blocking shifts from a niche opt-in behavior to a default condition of mobile browsing, forcing the ad industry toward formats and deals negotiated with blockers rather than assumed visibility.
- The open question is whether OEMs treat blocking as differentiation or follow platform-level guidance — the Asus and Samsung moves point in opposite structural directions, one embedding a blocker, the other merely permitting plugins.
The trend: Mobile ad blocking is migrating from downloadable apps to preinstalled, on-by-default browser features distributed by handset makers themselves.