Google open-sources Chrome browser for Apple's iOS, promises faster development

Google on Tuesday announced that the iOS version of Chrome is now open-source, something which could potentially aid developers and accelerate official releases of the browser.

Chrome for iOS was previously kept separate from the rest of the Chromium project because like other iOS browsers, Apple requires it to use the same WebKit rendering engine found in Safari, according to a blog post. On other platforms Chrome relies a different engine, called Blink.

Supporting both engines "created some extra complexities" that the Chromium team wanted to avoid in the code base. In the past few years however the team has made unspecified changes, and the iOS version is now in the open-source respository, available for compiling.

iOS development for Chrome is expected to go faster because tests are now available to the whole Chromium community, and should run automatically any time code is checked in.

Chrome remains one of the most popular downloads on the App Store, despite Safari being built into iOS. That may be attributable to Chrome working across several platforms — Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and ChromeOS — and syncing bookmarks, histories, and preferences.

Only parts of Safari — such as WebKit — are open-source, and the browser is limited to iOS and macOS. A Windows version did exist, but updates stopped after May 2012.

11 Comments

eightzero 3145 comments · 14 Years

About 7 years ago

Browser wars. What year is it?

StrangeDays 12964 comments · 8 Years

I had rather liked the Windows version of Safari, despite what detractors say. I used it while working at a Windows-only client site, and it was great to have my stuff synced. Reader mode was awesome.

Herbivore2 367 comments · 8 Years

I dislike Chrome. Haven't used it in years. It is a system resource and bandwidth hog.

I actually liked iCab enough to pay for the browser. It is a very nice app and far nicer than Chrome with better speed and customizability.

I have Chrome where I work, but use it only as a last resort as my machine bogs down substantially. As soon as I am finished with the browser, I close it immediately. If I happen to forget, I am usually forced to use the Windows task manager to kill the process.

I could care less about syncing the bookmarks, etc. If I need them, I will just VPN to my home machine from my iPhone and access safari directly.

Staying off of Chrome has another huge advantage. Google is unable to profile my browsing habits.

gatorguy 24611 comments · 13 Years

Herbivore2 said:

I dislike Chrome. Haven't used it in years. It is a system resource and bandwidth hog.

I actually liked iCab enough to pay for the browser. It is a very nice app and far nicer than Chrome with better speed and customizability.

I have Chrome where I work, but use it only as a last resort as my machine bogs down substantially. As soon as I am finished with the browser, I close it immediately. If I happen to forget, I am usually forced to use the Windows task manager to kill the process.

I could care less about syncing the bookmarks, etc. If I need them, I will just VPN to my home machine from my iPhone and access safari directly.

Staying off of Chrome has another huge advantage. Google is unable to profile my browsing habits.

For those times you're forced to use it:
https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/114836?co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop&hl=en

There's also Incognito Mode. Click on the three dots in the upper corner to access it.

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

eightzero said:

Browser wars. What year is it?

It’s more about data collection and analysis than a browser war I think. Getting people to use your browser gives you an advantage, especially Google. Of course there’s a certain cadre that will always prefer any third party browser over Safari just to keep up the illusion of superiority. Trashing Apple software is in vogue these days.