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According to statcounter, not really.

Global mobile browsers: http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/worldw...

Asia region: http://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/asia/#...

Interesting graphs! The graph for Asia shows that UC Browser market share decreased to half since this article published. Just to be clear, I am not implying causality!
The trouble with raw statcounter hit data is that it's hard to know what it's tracking. Even statcounter itself cautions that the stats should not be considered representative samples.

You'd need some in-depth analysis to distinguish any real effect from, for example, those that are an artefact of the sites that use it (and don't use it).

Its ‘Mini’ incarnation—or something like that—also dominated on my e-ink Nook Simple Touch by the virtue of working the best on a weak machine with a screen of limited capabilities (grayscale, infrared touchscreen aka no multitouch), under Android 2.1. And I was using it until about three years ago.

IIRC Opera Mini also worked on that, but not much else.

Guess it's time for me to mourn again that there are no e-ink devices with normal modern Android—the screen is noticeably easier on the eyes, even with the optional ‘ambient’ backlight (emitted from the sides, diffused through the glass). And the screen consumes little power, so the battery can be way smaller: Nook is lighter than my current phone despite having a bigger screen.

As for the refresh rate, Nook's screen can be coerced into doing some surprising stuff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbD753xE-U

I loved using my Kindle DX to browse various sites and even check email over 3G back in the day. No https support, though, and as that was increasingly required (quite correctly) and as the JS-all-the-things philosophy infected the web world (less correctly) it became broadly unusable.

I'd love to have an e-ink device with similar (or better) capability again.

On Nook, I also installed an old version of Pocket (from when it was ‘Read It Later’), which still synchronized with the service quite alright. So in addition to books, I also had my hoarding nest of Wikipedia and blog articles whenever I was waiting in a line.

With the 6" screen, it was pretty much the web in a paperback format.

You may enjoy onyx boox devices from https://onyxboox.com/, they are all running Android and AFAIK you can install stuff through google play.
I know about them, but last I checked, they too were part of the picture I'm lamenting: they ran Android 4.2 at best, as of last year.
It should be noted that UC browser has a lot of security flaws, and is notorious for not bothering to fix them.
Maybe Google will release a lightweight version of Chrome Go at some point? Anyway I'm hopeful Firefox Preview (Fenix) will be a nice improvement on mobile.
Do their users know that Alibaba is MIITM'ing their browsing activity? UC Browser downloads and renders all web content on their servers, then sends a lite representation to the mobile client.

I'm personally fine with it but I think that this WSJ article would be breathless article about how Alibaba WIRETAPS YOUR WEB BROWSING if it was an American company offering the same service.

More than a few mobile and even desktop browsers work that way. E.g. Opera's mobile browsers had such function for many years. I think even Firefox's little bro worked the same (dunno what became of that project).
And do you think this browser is dethroning Chrome because "it's just so good," or much more likely, because Google's services are officially and unofficially being blocked/given the cold shoulder by many local businesses/local governments in China, while Alibaba's browsers gets to be put into everything else?

The "huge Chinese market" is just a mirage created to lure greedy American companies into giving away their tech so that the local companies can be propped up/improve.

I am somewhat open to the content of your point, but put off by the vehemence of the language. Of course, you don't have to care what I think. But, I'm just letting you know that a more tactful and less heated way of phrasing the exact same content, would be more persuasive. Feel free to ignore this advice if you don't like it. Btw I'm not one of the ones who downvoted you, but I'm guessing at least some of them were affected similarly.
I mean Google and China's various state run tech corps is basically choosing whether to get punched by Lucifer's left or right hand. It's a matter of preference between two organizations whose stated goals are mass surveillance, one to sell you crap you don't need, the other to reinforce their social hierarchy. I don't get people who are on the Google train but anti-China, there's so much overlap between the two it's genuinely amusing to see people so hard up on one and so opposed to the other.

Frankly the whole thing reeks of misdirected racism or possibly red scare? Like you're okay with a multibillion dollar corporation stalking you but not a Government? Seems like an odd line to draw but okay.

Does this _really_ seem like an odd line to draw?

Like, even a multibillion dollar corporation like google, if it wanted to arrest me, it would seek the help of a government. Governments have the police and guns and stuff.

I understand corporations can influence and share information with governments, but, obviously they are different. Obviously tons of people feel considerably more unconformable with their or another government knowing things than Google.

And to be clear - I don't personally trust either of them at all. Google has shown themselves to be willing to help attempt to erase history in China and I'm sure would be all the more willing to do the same in my USA.

> Like, even a multibillion dollar corporation like google, if it wanted to arrest me, it would seek the help of a government. Governments have the police and guns and stuff.

Remember when 2K Games had that group of hackers who were creating cheats for GTA Online arrested and ruined their lives?

> I understand corporations can influence and share information with governments, but, obviously they are different. Obviously tons of people feel considerably more unconformable with their or another government knowing things than Google.

I know that, and I'm saying it's wrong, both of them are, and I find it strange that people are so ok with Google doing this stuff. Both of them are to be highly suspected, both of them do tons of unethical shit with tons of data they have no right to possess, and I just find it strange how everyone is largely ok with Google doing it, while hating China for it.

> And to be clear - I don't personally trust either of them at all.

Good. I'm not saying China's Government should be trusted, hell no, if that's how it came across I apologize. I'm saying they're both monsters that share a shocking number of characteristics.