🎉 Hey Product Hunt! 🎉
I'm Jonathon, the solo maker behind Ant Browser, and I'm excited to share it with you today!
I created Ant Browser because I love my Apple Watch and wanted the freedom to leave my phone behind, but sometimes I really missed not having a browser to look up a timetable, the latest sports results, or to compare prices while out shopping. (Shout out to my people who try to use your Watch as your daily driver!)
My goal is to make Ant Browser the best web experience on the Apple Watch—lightweight, intuitive, and genuinely useful.
— 🔑 KEY FEATURES —
📑 Synced Bookmarks: Create and sync your favourite sites across your Apple Watch, iPhone, and iPad.
⏳ History: Quickly revisit past searches without needing to type again.
✨ URL Error Prevention: Ant auto-corrects common URL errors meaning fewer typing hassles.
🔒 Privacy First: No sign-in required, no tracking. Bookmarks are securely stored in Apple's CloudKit.
🌐 Choice of Search Engines: Select from 9 different search engines for your preferred browsing experience.
🗺️ Localised Results: Ability to select your country for more relevant, localized search results.
⌚ Phone-Free Web Access: Browse directly on your Apple Watch, no iPhone needed. Includes a Web and Reader mode that makes the most of the compact display for effortless on-the-go browsing.
🎙️ Native Input Methods: Supports keyboard, scribble, and voice inputs.
— 🚧 GOOD TO KNOW —
The Ant Browser displays most sites really well! However, some complex sites may not load perfectly on the Watch. It's also not ideal for sites requiring authentication, as sessions aren't remembered. As much as I'd like to improve this, as Ant leverages Apple's web rendering tech improving this is mostly out of my control. It is best for quick searches, reading the news (with Reader Mode), or looking up facts.
— 🆓 FREE AND PAID OPTIONS —
Ant Browser is free with an option to upgrade to Pro for a one-time fee. Balancing the Free and Pro options is important to me. Both versions share all the features including favicon fetching and auto-URL correction to make typing on a Watch less bothersome.
The free version allows 5 searches a day—great for most people!
If you need more (or want to show your support), you can upgrade to Pro for a one-time fee of $5.99 USD—no subscriptions (side-eye at the few other Watch Browser apps out there). I think this is a fair deal, but I'm open to hearing from the community!
👨🏻💻 As a new solo creator, your support helps me continue development, and I'm excited to keep improving Ant Browser. It’s early days, and I’d love for you to try it and share your feedback to make it even better.
Thank you! 🙌
this looks so fun. I've been disappointed before on the Apple Watch Ultra that it didn't have a browser considering the screen is easily big enough.
Have you seen TinyPod? The little iPod style case for the Apple Watch. This would be perfect for that.
This is an interesting application. When I was in middle school, I used to read novels on websites using a Samsung Gear watch. I've never used an Apple Watch to browse web pages. Well done!
Congrats on the launch, Jonathan!
Sounds like an interesting idea. I'm not quite familiar with the Apple Watch browsing experience since I don't own one :)
As I understand it, there's currently no way to browse the web on your watch? If so, what you've built is very innovative, and I hope you gain some more traction.
