Full circle, ladies and gentlemen. Just as users left behind large mobile phones only to adopt them again in phablet format, we now encounter a new browser whose main proposal is to abandon tabs. The idea behind Colibrí is to replace the trio of tabs-favorites-history with a much more condensed and compact version, eliminating several secondary interface elements and reducing system resource consumption.
Internet Explorer is one of the starkest examples of a monster that ate itself. Microsoft's browser came to dominate 95 percent of the browser market, although we must also recognize that at that time, that market was much smaller. However, the lack of competition and innovation caused Internet Explorer to be very slow in its response after the impact of Mozilla Firefox and its tab system. Since then, Internet Explorer's numbers have done nothing but plummet, and not even Edge has been able to correct the situation. In the minds of users, it is as if Microsoft could no longer make browsers, and at the same time, the idea of a browser without tabs seems too outdated. That said, let's make room for Colibrí.
Basically, we are facing a browser that combines the best of current simplified interfaces with a trip back to 2001, a time when users visited one page at a time, or opened multiple instances. Colibrí applies a kind of fusion between tabs, favorites, and history, then divides that content into two sections: Links and Lists. The links section works superficially like any favorites system, but at the same time they are saved on a server, which reminds me a bit of Pocket. And the Lists section is similar to a speed dial of categories for organizing links. Colibrí also places a lot of emphasis on searching for content from the address bar, just as a normal history works today.
In summary, Colibrí seeks to shake things up and suggest that browsers can return to a more primitive state, which in theory would reduce their resource consumption and their security footprint. Still, it has several problems right now. Let's start with the most important: The average user has been using tabs for a decade, and they won't give them up easily. Then we find that Colibrí only offers a version for macOS, although builds compatible with Windows, Android, and iOS are on the way. Finally, its developers plan to monetize certain services in the browser, a very complicated strategy when the competition's offering is free. Is this the way? Should we return to a more basic browser? Soon we will know.
