Google Chrome Comes to iOS

By Kevin Webb | Published on June 29, 2012 | Updated on June 29, 2012 2:08 PM EDT

Google continued its string of announcements on Thursday, publicizing the release of its Chrome browser for iOS devices during the company’s ongoing I/O conference for developers. Though iOS developer Apple is in direct competition with Google’s own Android software, Google has rarely taken the approach of limiting its software. Chrome was made available via the iTunes App Store later in the same day, and the announcement earned applause from the crowd of conference goers.

“People have been asking us for this for a long time, but we wanted to make sure we got it right,” Sundar Pichai, Google’s head of Chrome, said during his presentation.

Since its release in late 2008, Chrome has grown to be the most popular browser in the world by several measurements. Currently, the browser has 310 million users worldwide, and a growing mobile user base since the browser was implemented in the newest version of the Android operating system. Despite this, the browser had never been available on the world’s most popular smartphone and tablet until the Thursday release.

Apple is known for restricting third -arty software, specifically software which compromises its base functions. Only Apple’s own Safari browser is able to take advantage of certain tools within iOS devices to support fast web browsing; third party browsers are forced to use an iOS software called UIWeb that displays web content without leaving the app. In comparison, UIWeb is much slower, forcing third party browsers including Chrome to rely on their own servers to load pages quickly.

Though Google spent much of the I/O conference pushing new Android updates and devices (including a new tablet), Thursday’s news showed that the company was not afraid to give its competitor some attention. Google’s Drive App will also make the jump to iOS, allowing Google Docs users to edit their documents both on and offline. Chrome users will be able to sync their bookmarks, history, and even open tabs across devices—meaning that any page left open on a home PC can be immediately opened via a mobile device.

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way