New Chrome for iOS is finally as fast and stable as Safari

Switching from the old UIWebView to iOS 8's WKWebView promises big benefits.

Read the whole story

 

[Fosterocalypse]

So maybe it will stop crashing daily .........

 

[haar]

Please be better than Safari!...

Downloading it now... (BTW, i use the iPad air to surf Ars...)

 

[IntergalacticWalrus]

I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

 

[gmerrick]

The question I have is why isn't this an anti-trust issue similar to Microsoft IE problems? If google was allowed to use their own engine it would not have offered a sub-par experience similar to Safari.

 

[mrsilver]

Hopefully a combination of:

1. Google offering iOS versions of all their services which can open links in other Google apps (rather than the Apple defaults)
2. Google offering an API so that other apps can open things in Google apps (rather than Apple defaults)

will give Apple that nudge to consider allowing users to set alternative defaults in iOS 10...

 

[willdude]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":170ylg2h]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

Yeah, as long as there's no way to set an OS-wide default browser, you'll pretty much always have to take extra steps to open something in non-Safari. Plus, more and more apps are using the embedded Safari when opening links.

 

[Oletros]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":2wifxnv5]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

Google not only syncs bookmarks, but also tabs open and the full browsing history

 

[jonomacd]

gmerrick[/url]":l47acjr0]The question I have is why isn't this an anti-trust issue similar to Microsoft IE problems? If google was allowed to use their own engine it would not have offered a sub-par experience similar to Safari.

It is actually worse than the microsoft situation as microsoft at least let you install another browser. The reason that it isn't anti trust is because Apple does not have a monopoly. If enough people buy iPhones and apple gets a monopoly then Apple is going to have a whole suite of antitrust issues.

It is still really shit for Apple to not allow rendering engines or default browsers. Repeating history...
http://nolanlawson.com/2015/06/30/safari-is-the-new-ie/

 

[adamsc]

I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

UI offers a bunch of potential reasons – beyond just sync, there are a bunch of features which Chrome had the open in background tab feature before Safari, along with things like opening a link in a private tab (which I use all the time for both the sites I work on), both it and Firefox use much less screen real-estate, etc. They have different takes on sending tabs around that don't require every device to run the same vendor's OS or depend on hardware features like Bluetooth LE the way handoff does, which is a classic “pick which set of drawbacks you find less annoying” situation.

The old data saver extension was a bigger deal than it might sound because loading everything through Google's servers meant that your carrier couldn't inject tracking cookies into the requests and was helpful for flaky sites where Google's servers had a better chance of resolving DNS, etc. than a marginal 3G network.


(This is not to say that I wouldn't like to see Chrome and Firefox as native apps, but rather that it's important to remember how much other work goes into a browser in addition to the core rendering engine)

 

[thomsirveaux]

gmerrick[/url]":26bi701v]The question I have is why isn't this an anti-trust issue similar to Microsoft IE problems? If google was allowed to use their own engine it would not have offered a sub-par experience similar to Safari.

I'm no expert but I've got to imagine it's because Apple and iOS have nowhere near as big a monopoly on the smartphone business as Microsoft did on the PC business (which, back then, was basically all of computing, not like now where PCs compete with phones and tablets for some of the same consumers). The benefit of Android's rise is that Apple lawyers can point to market share and make a reasonable argument that anyone who doesn't like Apple's platform policies has plenty of other places to go.

 

[jonomacd]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":bcvku04e]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

This goes beyond the use case for the user. We need more than one browser for competition. Without competition the browser market stagnates.

 

[bthylafh]

Thank Cthulhu. Chrome's been so slow (scrolling and JS-heavy pages both) on my iPad 3 for the past year that I finally switched to Opera Mini. The latter's still a bit poky but is much more usable.

 

[mrsilver]

jonomacd[/url]":1euu7cxt]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":1euu7cxt]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

This goes beyond the use case for the user. We need more than one browser for competition. Without competition the browser market stagnates.

True, but imagine if the Windows world was like the iOS world.

You'd have a number of different browsers with different pieces of functionality - but every single one of them would be using the Internet Explorer rendering engine.

To have true competition, Apple would need to allow alternative rendering engines.

 

[Mgamerz]

I hope it doesn't introduce the issues safari has for my website. Safari is like IE of the mobile world, it just uses its own standards. Chrome on iOS has kinetic scrolling for my site, but safari does not, and I can never seem to figure out why...

Edit: yep, it did...

 

[Carewolf]

Of course it is. IT IS SAFARI. You can't get other browsers on iOS, only other skins of Safari, and this is just a Chrome skin of Safari.

 

[Ulf]

While it would be nice to finally get a version of Chrome that doesn't crash constantly, advertising on mobile is so intrusive and annoying that trying to do anything without a blocker is an exercise in frustration. :/

 

[scottsmith7]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":1qhtl119]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS... I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

It is definitely bookmark syncing and "continuity" across platforms... as a Chrome user on Windows and ChromeOS user, this is good.

Now, if I had a MacBook, yeah, there would be no point for a 3rd party browser for me.

 

[John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt]

It looks like Google still doesn't have any way for web developers to get a console on Chrome on iOS. That always leads to those interesting cases of "The site doesn't work in <browser> on <device>" with minimal ways to figure out why.

Not sure if it's an iOS limitation or something else but those are always fun to figure out.

 

[baobrain]

If it still can't use the nitrous engine why even bother? It's ridiculous that you can't use the nitrous engine that safari uses, and it's even more ridiculous that you still can't use your own engine on iOS.

 

[Carewolf]

<deleted>

 

[Deleted member 174040]

Formerly known as SquirrelFish Extreme

Where do these names come from?

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":67cfvr9e]there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

How?

 

[sugarbooger]

willdude[/url]":2ahehyp1]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":2ahehyp1]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

Yeah, as long as there's no way to set an OS-wide default browser, you'll pretty much always have to take extra steps to open something in non-Safari.

That sounds like an OS-level problem, not an issue brought on by the third-party browsers, themselves.

 

[Chris_canthisbelessofapia]

To all those asking why use Chrome on iOS just look at a previous story here on Ars with Safari crashing. I'm affected by this bug but currently with Chrome all is fine. Hopefully that doesn't change when I update later today.

 

[AndreaFaulds]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":w14cmzt1]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

Bookmark, tab and history syncing in Firefox for iOS is pretty neat. It means my awesomebar is the same on my laptop and my phone.

 

[AndreaFaulds]

jonomacd[/url]":335aom7r]

gmerrick[/url]":335aom7r]The question I have is why isn't this an anti-trust issue similar to Microsoft IE problems? If google was allowed to use their own engine it would not have offered a sub-par experience similar to Safari.

It is actually worse than the microsoft situation as microsoft at least let you install another browser. The reason that it isn't anti trust is because Apple does not have a monopoly. If enough people buy iPhones and apple gets a monopoly then Apple is going to have a whole suite of antitrust issues.

It is still really shit for Apple to not allow rendering engines or default browsers. Repeating history...
http://nolanlawson.com/2015/06/30/safari-is-the-new-ie/

Unless something's changed, Windows RT and Windows Phone don't allow the APIs necessary for making a competing browser, as it only allows you to use WinRT and not Win32.

Apple's not unique here.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

No trying to start a Android/iOS war here:

On iOS, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can't change them.

On Android, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can change them.


My question is: What percentage of all Android users take advantage of that functionality? Has anyone ever seen any statistics?

 

[jrose]

Oletros[/url]":1aatsv7n]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":1aatsv7n]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

Google not only syncs bookmarks, but also tabs open and the full browsing history

Safari does that across iOS and Mac devices as well.

Sure if you're using a PC Chrome might be handy, but if you're a mac/iOS person i just don't see the point of running Chrome on iOS or Mac. On iOS it's just slower and on the Mac it is a battery hog.

 

[Degru]

haar[/url]":3amz3z9s]Please be better than Safari!...

Downloading it now... (BTW, i use the iPad air to surf Ars...)

It's not going to be faster, and the only real advantage is Chrome sync integration.

 

[thenamenottaken]

To me, the point of jailbreak is not stealing apps you'd otherwise have to pay for, but getting basic functionality that Apple blocks for no good reason. Things like setting a default browser and making the date appear next to the time at the top of the screen. I don't understand why Apple is so stubborn about these things.

 

[gmerrick]

thomsirveaux[/url]":2ikanks9]

gmerrick[/url]":2ikanks9]The question I have is why isn't this an anti-trust issue similar to Microsoft IE problems? If google was allowed to use their own engine it would not have offered a sub-par experience similar to Safari.

I'm no expert but I've got to imagine it's because Apple and iOS have nowhere near as big a monopoly on the smartphone business as Microsoft did on the PC business (which, back then, was basically all of computing, not like now where PCs compete with phones and tablets for some of the same consumers). The benefit of Android's rise is that Apple lawyers can point to market share and make a reasonable argument that anyone who doesn't like Apple's platform policies has plenty of other places to go.

the only reason MS got so big is because of the copyright infringement that happened with Windows XP and the 111111111111111 product key that was baked into the OS. Back then there really was not much choice for PC, MS was it.... ok Novell was there and a big player but got the shit kicked out of them because of above.

Other than Apple being Apple, there is no reason why a 3rd party browser can't use their own rendering engine in IOS. Even Android allows alternate browser engines.

Edit is was Windows 9X not XP as a poster mentioned.

 

[IntergalacticWalrus]

jonomacd[/url]":1oxmbh6m]

IntergalacticWalrus[/url]":1oxmbh6m]I really don't understand the point of using a 3rd party browser on iOS. Ultimately you're just pretending that you're using another browser, since it's still using the same OS-level rendering engine anyway.

I guess bookmark syncing is one thing, but there are ways to keep your bookmarks synced between your Google and Apple accounts.

This goes beyond the use case for the user. We need more than one browser for competition. Without competition the browser market stagnates.

But as long as 3rd party browsers can't be set as default and can't provide their own rendering engines, this is all just pretend competition. They're not really alternate browsers, and more like glorified replacement GUI skins for Safari.

 

[gmerrick]

RockDaMan[/url]":2pzj1fmw]No trying to start a Android/iOS war here:

On iOS, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can't change them.

On Android, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can change them.


My question is: What percentage of all Android users take advantage of that functionality? Has anyone ever seen any statistics?

the default browser is typically not Google Chome but a vanilla version. You need to installl Chrome manually.

I do have firefox installed and use it occasionally

 

[Deleted member 174040]

thenamenottaken[/url]":3q5zlrth]To me, the point of jailbreak is ...getting basic functionality...Things like...making the date appear next to the time at the top of the screen. I don't understand why Apple is so stubborn about these things.

I took this for granted, and haven't missed it.

It's on my phone at work, in the task-bar on my PC, on my watch, and on the lock-screen of my iPhone.

 

[bthylafh]

gmerrick[/url]":1hogf3td]

the only reason MS got so big is because of the copyright infringement that happened with Windows XP and the 111111111111111 product key that was baked into the OS.

Completely, utterly wrong. That product key was for Windows 9x (95, I think) and was never valid on XP. Besides that you're ignoring a metric craptonne of other factors.

 

[Deleted member 174040]

gmerrick[/url]":2lq43bfl]

RockDaMan[/url]":2lq43bfl]No trying to start a Android/iOS war here:

On iOS, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can't change them.

On Android, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can change them.


My question is: What percentage of all Android users take advantage of that functionality? Has anyone ever seen any statistics?

the default browser is typically not Google Chome but a vanilla version. You need to installl Chrome manually.

Still, what % of all users are actively setting and changing defaults vs what % that never do it?

 

[caramelpolice]

baobrain[/url]":wx5akp5w]If it still can't use the nitrous engine why even bother? It's ridiculous that you can't use the nitrous engine that safari uses, and it's even more ridiculous that you still can't use your own engine on iOS.

It *is* using Nitro now - that's the primary benefit of moving to WKWebView.

 

[jonomacd]

AndreaFaulds[/url]":1rae3jal]

jonomacd[/url]":1rae3jal]

gmerrick[/url]":1rae3jal]The question I have is why isn't this an anti-trust issue similar to Microsoft IE problems? If google was allowed to use their own engine it would not have offered a sub-par experience similar to Safari.

It is actually worse than the microsoft situation as microsoft at least let you install another browser. The reason that it isn't anti trust is because Apple does not have a monopoly. If enough people buy iPhones and apple gets a monopoly then Apple is going to have a whole suite of antitrust issues.

It is still really shit for Apple to not allow rendering engines or default browsers. Repeating history...
http://nolanlawson.com/2015/06/30/safari-is-the-new-ie/

Unless something's changed, Windows RT and Windows Phone don't allow the APIs necessary for making a competing browser, as it only allows you to use WinRT and not Win32.

Apple's not unique here.

I'm not concerned about uniqueness. If what you say is true then the situation is even worse.

 

[gmerrick]

bthylafh[/url]":wekbn1or]

gmerrick[/url]":wekbn1or]

the only reason MS got so big is because of the copyright infringement that happened with Windows XP and the 111111111111111 product key that was baked into the OS.

Completely, utterly wrong. That product key was for Windows 9x (95, I think) and was never valid on XP. Besides that you're ignoring a metric craptonne of other factors.

My bad you are correct. It was windows 95 that had it and got them their marketshare

 

[thomsirveaux]

gmerrick[/url]":3p0iymq4]

RockDaMan[/url]":3p0iymq4]No trying to start a Android/iOS war here:

On iOS, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can't change them.

On Android, several core apps are provided (browser, mapping, email) and you can change them.


My question is: What percentage of all Android users take advantage of that functionality? Has anyone ever seen any statistics?

the default browser is typically not Google Chome but a vanilla version. You need to installl Chrome manually.

I do have firefox installed and use it occasionally

That was true a few years ago but Chrome is either the default browser or installed by default on Android phones now, I believe it's one of the "core" apps that Google says OEMs *need* to preinstall if they're going to use Google Play. http://meincmagazine.com/gadgets/2014/02/ ... trictions/