Chrome for iOS

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chrome/id535886823?mt=8

by yottabyte47 • 14 years ago

188 89 14 years ago

itunes.apple.com

srik• 14 years ago

Thanks. Chrome doesn't show up on Appstore search. The Appstore could really use an overhaul in my opinion.

msrpotus• 14 years ago

Search in general on the Appstore isn't very good; not just for this.

jimdanz• 14 years ago

+1. Many thanks.

nc• 14 years ago

There's usually a few hours delay before new apps show up in the search index.

swang• 14 years ago

You have to search, "Google Chrome" and it's the last result (of 25).

At least when searching through App Store on the iPhone.

culturestate• 14 years ago

As of now, it's #1 when searching for "Chrome."

melvinmt• 14 years ago

Just navigate to this page on iOS and click on the iTunes link. It will open up the App Store and redirect you to the app.

cmelbye2• 14 years ago

Luckily, it does get an overhaul in iOS 6.

ojbyrne• 14 years ago

It did for me a couple of minutes ago.

bri3d• 14 years ago

Chrome for iOS doesn't use V8 or the Chromium fork of WebKit, just UIWebView. [0] Because it's using WebViews, it's about 3x slower than the OS's Safari browser [1], because WebViews in sandboxed apps don't get the "Nitro" JavaScript JIT from iOS 5 onwards (presumably for mark-executable security reasons).

Unless the tab-sharing feature is crucial to more people than I thought, I don't think this app is going to be a runaway hit.

0: https://twitter.com/viviancromwell/status/218402587760795648 1: https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/21843446275153920...

jonny_eh• 14 years ago

Well that's a bummer. The UI in the Chrome app is really slick!

wlesieutre2• 14 years ago

Don't worry too much about that, it's only slower for javascript execution. The other features, including Chrome sync, unlimited tabs, "Request desktop site", more than make up for it.

The real stumbling block, IMO, is that without jailbreaking, links from other apps will always open in Safari.

hanapbuhay• 14 years ago

At first glance, the UI feels pretty good. Here's some screenshots of Google Chrome on iOS: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjAhkquN

dbloom2• 14 years ago

Only JS execution is 3x slower -- everything else (DOM, layout, repaint, parsing) is the same.

Most web pages (and even web applications) are rarely bottlenecked by JS execution speed. (There are a few exceptions to this rule...for example, the JS GameBoy Color emulator probably won't work very well)

bzbarsky• 14 years ago

You mean the same as Mobile Safari, not the same as Chrome, right? Because "repaint" is not part of WebKit proper (it's implemented separately in Chrome and Safari, for example). And even "layout" is different code on iOS and in other WebKit ports...

Killswitch• 14 years ago

Luckily for me, the main reasons I am using it is desktop to mobile and password syncing and stuff.

mtgx2• 14 years ago

Only for Javascript stuff, though. If you're browsing mobile sites, it shouldn't affect you at all, as well as most websites on the web that aren't JS-heavy.

moe2• 14 years ago

feature is crucial

A crucial feature for me would be password-manager support (lastpass, 1passwd). The (lack of) password management on the iPad is driving me nuts. The half-baked external apps that let you copy/paste don't cut it for me. Nor the awfully slow and constantly crashing "LastPass browser".

Does Chrome finally bring relief?

pooriaazimi2• 14 years ago

Hmm... I never thought of that.

Safari 6 added a new preferences panel for saved passwords. Unfortunately there's not an equivalent iPad setting (just checked on iPad 2, iOS 6 beta 1), but this might change between now and fall...

Maybe you should file a bug report?

KirinDave• 14 years ago

Chrome Sync allows you to sync passwords.

spudlyo• 14 years ago

Agreed. 1Password support would be the thing that would cause me to use Chrome exclusively on iOS. The machinations I have to go through now with 1Password on iOS are extremely frustrating.

carlesfe• 14 years ago

I have the same problem and found a solution, maybe it helps for you.

1password supports Dropbox integration, and it provides a web page inside your dropbox account (i.e. password protected) that you can log into with your master password to check them out.

It is not automatic nor integrated, and it does not allow you to add new passwords, but at least you can easily copy and paste them on the iPad.

dakrisht• 14 years ago

Couldn't agree more. More like 1.5-2x slower but it certainly isn't a speed improvement over Safari.

Didn't know about Nitro, but this app is a flop because it has to be on top of UIWebView.

Not sure there's any other way to build this app, Google has some bright engineers.

gcp3• 14 years ago

I don't think this app is going to be a runaway hit.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57463546-93/google-chrome-a...

Most popular free application for iOS.

Marketing, better UI, sync features, herd mentality, who'll tell?

toddn• 14 years ago

I'm excited to use this, but wow, the sign in flow for people using 2-factor authentication is awful.

kmfrk• 14 years ago

Are you using [application authorization](https://www.google.com/accounts/b/0/IssuedAuthSubTokens?hl=e...)?

smackfu• 14 years ago

It's bizarre. Why is a Google app using an application specific password instead of your authentication code? The only reason an app should not use the two factors is if it's some legacy protocol that only takes a single userid/password pair. WTF.

notJim• 14 years ago

Google's own apps should really support 2-factor auth, and they should improve the flow for app-specific passwords.

The flow for getting an app-specifc password is awful. It takes a large number of clicks (I think 7, but I lost count), and several of the pages are confusing. Not only that, but you have to enter your password and a name of the app. Ideally, it would be a reduced number of clicks (like 2–3), entering your password, and that's it. Adding a name for the app should be optional. My apps all have names like “alsjdlajshd” or “9”, because I'm impatient, and the likelihood that I'll ever need to invalidate one is low enough that I would be okay with just invalidating them all.

mtgx2• 14 years ago

This could be a nice "trojan horse" into the iOS ecosystem. Get Apple users hooked enough on Chrome, that they will want to switch to Android for the "real Chrome experience". I know a lot of people are not using iPhones because they can't live without the Gmail app for Android.

k-mcgrady• 14 years ago

It's possible but I seriously doubt users would switch to Android because of a browser. Especially when they've already spent a lot of money on iOS apps and are familiar with the iOS ecosystem. I also doubt any mainstream user will understand that Chrome on iOS is slower than it could be because of Apple's rules.

azakai• 14 years ago

> It's possible but I seriously doubt users would switch to Android because of a browser. [..] I also doubt any mainstream user will understand that Chrome on iOS is slower than it could be because of Apple's rules.

Yes, it seems more likely that the opposite of what GP said will happen: iOS users will try Chrome, and seeing it is 3-4x slower than the default Safari, will assume that Chrome would be slow on Android too - it has the exact same name after all - so they'll stick with iOS.

e_proxus3• 14 years ago

I'm more curious to see if Google, or users, will try to use the Chrome launch on iOS as a wedge into getting Apple to open up the OS to allow alternative defaults than Apple's own.

dewiz2• 14 years ago

just tried to install and it looks like the app has been removed? anyone that could confirm?

fabianhoward• 14 years ago

I can't install it either.

dansingerman• 14 years ago

Yes, just got "The item you tried to buy is no longer available"...hmmmm...https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-VzS7TgKtYRE/T-zQMcuxLXI/A...

cmelbye2• 14 years ago

Took me a few tries. For me, it said that the app couldn't be downloaded a couple times. I just hit "Retry".

jimeh• 14 years ago

Same issue here too.

objclxt• 14 years ago

Unlike on Android, where pushing an app live is almost instantaneous, on iTunes it takes 24 hours for apps to propagate through all the various content distribution nodes.

It's much more likely it's this, since knowing Apple's review teams I would strongly suspect when they saw the "Google Chrome" app in the review queue they raised it up the management chain.

There is no rhyme or reason to this, it's just how it goes in the crazy world of iTunes Connect and the app store.

AlexMuir• 14 years ago

"the item you tried to buy is no longer available."

That was brief.

abcd_f• 14 years ago

Can't imagine the amount of arm twisting that was involved in getting this into the App Store. Must've really come down to the ultimate "No Google for you" argument.

TazeTSchnitzel3• 14 years ago

Eh, I doubt Apple would reject it. IIRC Mozilla already did something similar.

drgath• 14 years ago

Same thing as Y! Axis as well.

gcp3• 14 years ago

Care to explain?

webwright• 14 years ago

The bummer here for Google (and anyone else who'd like to provide an alternative to Apple's apps on the iOS platform) is that there's no way to set your default browser. Or email client. Or calendar. It'll be hard to use chrome if Safari opens up every time I click a link in email or any other app.

cloudwalking• 14 years ago

It is a bummer you can't make Chrome your default browser. However, if you move Safari to a folder and put Chrome in your launch bar, Safari being default won't bother you too much.

brntn• 14 years ago

Until you click a link in an email or app.

BruceIV• 14 years ago

I wonder if Apple is ever going to run into legal trouble for this - it can't be much different than Microsoft's troubles with bundling IE, WMP, etc. on the desktop.

nathan_f772• 14 years ago

I'm sure it's possible to do with a jailbreak tweak, and I'll look into that. I've always wondered, are many HN readers jailbreakers?

EDIT: This looks like it should do the job - http://www.redmondpie.com/change-default-browser-on-iphone-w... Just have to wait for an update.

draz• 14 years ago

I downloaded it, and I like it. I wish they also had the swipe-to-right to see the browsing history.

knes• 14 years ago

This. Drive me nuts that I can swipe left & right on my mac touchpad but can't on my iPad?! I don't want to tap those tiny arrows anymore :(

dakimov• 14 years ago

Somewhy I could not find it with the search in the app store on iPad itself.

Just installed it. Sweet. Finally I've got the same browsing experience on my iPad as on a desktop.

sirn• 14 years ago

I have high hope for Chrome for iOS to be like the Google Search app[1] which is simply fun to use. Instead, on an iPad, what we got is just a desktop UI slab on top of touch interface… and seems to trash old tab faster than Mobile Safari. It's kind of sad.

Edit: I was wrong about tab trashing, seems like old tab reloads when you come back from Incognito mode.

[1] http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-search/id284815942?mt=...

danvk• 14 years ago

Autocompletion in the omnibox is way more aggressive than in Safari. You typically only need to type one or two characters to get to the sites you visit most frequently. In a lot of cases, this will more than make up for any JS performance differences between Chrome and Safari.

JBiserkov• 14 years ago

After a few hours of heavy usage:

-I had forgotten how AWESOME omnibox is. You can speak to it!!

-Safari habits die hard

-The only thing I'm missing is the 'Reader' feature.

e_proxus3• 14 years ago

The lack of an OmniBox is what disturbs me the most about Safari on iOS right now. The most common use case being entering one of the boxes, realizing I don't have the URL in my head and need to search (or vice versa). Also, Chrome's OmniBox let's you search your history at the same time as you search the web and enter URLs... priceless.

nathan_f772• 14 years ago

If this lets me have my passwords and bookmarks on my iPhone, I'm definitely saying goodbye to Xmarks and Lastpass.

10dpd• 14 years ago

Chrome now tops the iOS App Store charts

http://itunes.apple.com/us/rss/topfreeapplications/limit=10/...

MarkMc• 14 years ago

Several problems:

1. Not very robust - it keeps forgetting the Google passwords I've typed in

2. Why do I need to enter two Google passwords - my 'main' password AND an application-specific password?

3. Not very easy to use. For example, where's the option to see my browsing history on Chrome for iPhone?

icarus_drowning• 14 years ago

2. Do you use 2-factor authentication? I do, and so I'm used to seeing this on applications that don't fully support the 2-factor authentication, which is, I assume why it was asking.

sixcorners• 14 years ago

If you encrypt your stuff using your Google password, that might be why it is needed.

forbes• 14 years ago

I love that it opens tabs behind, unlike Safari. Only thing I don't like is the address bar using up too much room (not disappearing).

sgrytoyr• 14 years ago

Yes, it’s very strange (and annoying) that it doesn’t disappear. With the swipe-to-switch-tabs gesture, there’s even less reason to show it permanently than in Mobile Safari.

adiM• 14 years ago

How does it compare with Opera Mini browser?

rplnt• 14 years ago

Not an answer, just an elaboration on differences: Apple doesn't allow "duplicating functionality" or something along those lines and as other comment already mentioned, Chrome is a stock browser with different UI. That's also why there is no Opera Mobile on iOS. Opera Mini on the other hand bypasses this rule by being application which shows already preprocessed web (similar to Turbo function on Desktop or Mobile).

zanny• 14 years ago

On my 3gs Chrome is showing some significant slowdown over Safari, in JS, page loads, and scrolling - all are delayed. The reasons have already been explained, but it is still sad. The omnibar makes it worth it though, gosh I have missed thee.

dewiz2• 14 years ago

finally a solution to open more than 10 tabs. I was quite excited to have a way to open those 30+ news to read while traveling on the underground.... sad news, when I switch tab the browser reload the page and lose the content... wtf! back to safari :(

e_proxus3• 14 years ago

Safari does that all the time as well.

jfhollingworth• 14 years ago

Unless I'm mistaken Nitro is actually enabled as of iOS 5.

Synaesthesia• 14 years ago

No, sorry it's not, for security reasons. Thus it probably won't be enabled in the future either.

chris_engel2• 14 years ago

It doesnt have the reader feature that i like in safari. Fine, I thought - lets get the readability bookmarklet.

Turns out Google Chrome doesn't support bookmarklets... What the hell, Google!

chris_engel2• 14 years ago

Just found out: the bookmarklet works if you manually copy and paste it into the url bar, but not, if you selct it from the bookmarks list...

mofle• 14 years ago

Add this as a bookmark in Mobile Safari to be able to quickly open pages in Chrome:

    javascript:location.protocol='googlechrome'

yalooze• 14 years ago

After using it for a while now it's made me realise there's a ton of features I've been missing when using mobile Safari:

-New tab with Most Visited and Recently Closed -Google Sync for bookmarks but more importantly it instantly empowers my Omnibox -the keyboard has an extra character row at the top that includes hyphens (simple but nice) -Swipe between tabs -find in page -Open in new tab defaults to opening in the background (I've missed this a lot) -unlimited tabs

I realise some of these aren't unique to mobile Chrome but as far as I'm aware they are missing from mobile Safari and they're the reasons I'll be sticking with Chrome.

dvdhsu• 14 years ago

Chrome doesn't support blocking of third party cookies. You either have them, or you don't.

http://db.tt/ldZUNuJo

username32• 14 years ago

Reopen closed tab? Google Chrome for iOS.

username32• 14 years ago

Recently closed on New Tab page

thethimble• 14 years ago

Can someone please explain Apple and Microsoft's insistence to push Safari and IE respectively? It seems that they have little to gain.

In this case, why does Apple mandate the use of UIWebView instead of allowing a native implementation of Webkit+V8? It just seems like Apple is being stubborn as usual.

Chrome for iOS

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