Baseline Version#
Based on official version 8.12.1000.2402 (Chromium: 98.0.4758.139 Res: 2402.608) (64-bit)
Official Introduction#
The official introduction is too rough, so I will post a summary from enthusiastic users on the official forum.
Original post address: https://bbs.twinkstar.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1886&extra=page%3D1
It should be noted that compared to the forum post, the version has undergone multiple iterations and there may be changes in functionality.
Also, due to limited time and energy, I cannot guarantee to test and verify everything. This evaluation article is not exhaustive, and everything should be based on actual usage.
Download Links#
Official website: https://www.twinkstar.com
Regular Performance Testing#
Memory Usage with Multiple Tabs#
Following my usual testing method, I opened 24 tabs of a specific folder at once. Then I confirmed that each tab finished loading, and finally checked the memory usage through the task manager.
From the screenshots, it can be seen that the memory usage is approximately 1.5GB. This is a moderate amount of usage.
4K Video Decoding Capability#
Mainly tested on YouTube and bilibili, which are commonly used by me.
The test sample selected is "影视飓风：2023-2024 免费样片" (Movie Hurricane: 2023-2024 Free Sample)
Sample address: 【杜比视界】激发你设备的极限画质，影视飓风 2023-2024 免费样片_哔哩哔哩_bilibili
However, due to different websites having different encoding, bitrates, and formats, the test results are only for reference.
First is YouTube, which uses VP9 encoding. During playback, CPU usage fluctuates between 4% and 10%, and GPU usage fluctuates between 10% and 50%. No significant stuttering was observed.
Next is bilibili. Since my CPU is 7735hs, it supports AV1 encoding. During playback, CPU usage fluctuates around 8%, and GPU usage is around 30%. No significant stuttering was observed.
Overall, it meets the requirements for streaming 4K content.
PDF Functionality#
Twinkster's PDF functionality is basically the same as Chrome's native functionality, satisfying basic browsing needs, but lacks features such as annotation and modification.
Basemark Benchmark#
Basemark is a website that evaluates the overall quality of browsers, and its benchmark scores can generally reflect the basic quality of a browser.
Benchmark environment: After restarting the system, manually open the browser to be tested. The only installed extension is "safeincloud", and the only open tab is the Basemark test page.
In addition, in order to compare with Twinkster's benchmark scores, I also ran the benchmark on Chrome version 123.0.6312.86.
Chrome version number
Chrome benchmark scores
Twinkster benchmark scores
As can be seen, Twinkster's overall performance is very close to Chrome, with a difference of only about 10 points.
Advantages#
Highly customizable new tab page#
Multi-column bookmarks#
Support for direct installation from extension store#
When testing this feature, I found that many commonly used extensions cannot be installed in Chrome but can be installed in Twinkster. This is probably due to the lower kernel version of Twinkster, which has restrictions imposed by Google.
However, this only applies to the inability to use the Google Web Store, and it does not affect the installation of offline extensions and other third-party websites.
Native screenshot functionality#
Twinkster's screenshot feature is well-designed, with comprehensive functionality and a beautiful UI.
From left to right in the image: Reverse image search, aspect ratio, draw circle, draw rectangle, arrow, pencil, highlighter, text, mosaic, save to file, undo, exit, save to clipboard
Reverse image search#
Native recently closed tabs#
Native mouse gestures and super drag#
Among them, mouse gestures support modifying the corresponding actions but cannot customize gestures. Super drag cannot modify the actions after dragging.
Comprehensive tab management settings#
Supports double-click to close tabs, etc.
Web resource sniffing#
I only tested YouTube, and the sniffing floating window can be triggered.
For Chinese websites related to copyright, according to the developer's description, they have implemented a blacklist and cannot trigger sniffing.
Native multi-threaded downloader#
The number of concurrent downloads can be adjusted in the settings.
Pre-installed search tools#
As shown in the image, it is very convenient to switch between search engines without manually switching among multiple search engines.
Support for QQ and WeChat login#
Comprehensive account and synchronization features#
Multi-platform support#
Active official forum#
Disadvantages#
Lower kernel version#
Due to the use of "Chromium: 98.0.4758.139 Res: 2402.608", there may be some webpage compatibility issues and the inability to use some new kernel features. For example, "renaming local files within the browser".
Lack of small profile feature#
Originally, Chrome could use "Add User" to solve this, but due to conflicts with Twinkster's built-in account system, only extensions can be used.
Lack of split screen functionality#
Missing search in settings#
The settings interface of Twinkster lacks the ability to search.
Actually, there aren't many settings to begin with
Lack of maintenance for comic functionality#
Comic functionality was a feature that was specifically promoted by the official website, but during testing, I found that it did not support mainstream comic websites. Many comic websites could not trigger the comic browsing mode through the built-in comic search. In addition, it does not support Tencent, NetEase, and other mainstream licensed websites. Overall, the experience is not good, and this feature is basically unusable.
Worth Mentioning#
Combined address bar and title bar#
In the image above, the left half is Vivaldi, and the right half is Twinkster. As can be seen, although the title bar and address bar are combined, the height of the necessary controls is still relatively large, taking up a significant amount of vertical screen space.
In addition, because the address bar and title bar are combined, if the address bar is in focus (as shown in the blue color in the image), the window cannot be moved. Only by clicking outside the address bar to make it lose focus can the window be moved.
Sniffing blacklist#
Due to copyright-related laws in China, certain websites are on the sniffing blacklist and cannot trigger sniffing.
UI design is subjective#
In my opinion, it's a bit ugly
Conclusion#
If you need a browser that is ready to use out of the box and do not frequently need to bypass internet restrictions, and you can accept a more retro UI, then Twinkster is quite suitable for you. Although its kernel is not the latest, it does not affect general web browsing needs.
Finally, I wish you all a happy Labor Day in advance.