ASUS' mobile devices will ship with built-in ad blocking
The company's in-house web browser will block ads right from the start.
Ad blocking is now easy to find on just about every device you own, but it's rarely included from the get-go. However, ASUS aims to change that. As of early 2016, all of the company's web-capable mobile devices will ship with AdBlock Plus not only included with the company's proprietary browser, but switched on by default. If you tend to visit sites with intrusive ads, you won't have to lift a finger to get rid of most promos.
The impact on the ad-supported web may be limited. ASUS' browser has 'just' 15 million users versus the hundreds of millions running alternatives, and the policy won't do much if you're the sort who immediately switches to Chrome or Firefox whenever you get a new gadget. Still, it's a watershed moment -- there will soon be many people surfing the web who didn't even realize that they were missing ads.
