Google's Chromium team working on non-WebKit browser for iOS

AppleInsider

Google's Chromium team is working on making a new experimental browser for iOS based on Blink, instead of using Webkit as mandated by App Store policies.

Chromium and WebKit logos

Under the App Store Review Guidelines, web browsers and apps that offer web-browsing capabilities must employ "the appropriate WebKit framework and WebKit Javascript." However, it seems Google is starting to look at other ways to offer browsing on iOS, without using the Apple-sanctioned browser engine.

The search giant's Chromium developers are reportedly working on a web browser for iOS that uses the Blink browser engine, according to The Register. The "content_shell iOS port" referred to in Chromium bug reports is apparently an internal-only application, intended for testing graphics and input latencies.

The posting, from January 31, underlines that it is "experimental only," and it is currently not intended to be "a shippable product."

A spokesperson told the report it is "an experimental prototype that we are developing as part of an open source project with the goal to understand certain aspects of performance on iOS. It will not be available to users and we'll continue to abide by Apple's policies."

Despite the protestations, this may be laying the groundwork for major changes in iOS browser development in the future.

Law changes, engine changes

While Apple currently won't allow browsers using anything other than WebKit into the App Store, that policy could potentially be challenged in the future, via changes in law.

For example, Europe's Digital Markets Act aims to force Apple into making changes to how it allows developers access to iOS as a whole, including the possibility of enabling third-party app storefronts. Since other stores will be able to set their own rules about app content, that means a browser offered through a third-party store wouldn't be limited to the WebKit-only rule.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's report released on February 1 also pointed to how Apple's policies have "created unnecessary barriers" for app developers, including "functional restrictions that favor some apps over others."

Apple is reportedly bracing itself for the DMA implementation, with work allegedly happening behind the scenes to comply with the rules, including third-party app storefronts.

With alternate avenues to put apps onto the iPhone potentially on the way, this sort of testing by Google could be viewed as a start towards developing a browser that works to Google's own rules, not those set by Apple. Indeed, the "experimental prototype could be more than just a vehicle for testing.

A report source familiar with browser development says content_shell is a "minimal browser application," and that it is "the start of a browser port." Visible code commits indicate that it is in skeletal form and missing core components including sandboxing, JIT support in V8, and a fully fleshed-out graphics stack.

It's highly plausible that these areas could be improved upon within months, if Google put its resources in that direction. With the prospect of distributing a browser on iOS that doesn't lean on Apple's WebKit engine, that could be all the motivation Google needs.

Read on AppleInsider

ihatescreennames

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

DAalseth

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

My guess would be the opportunity to do data mining. That’s why I won’t touch Chrome with a ten foot pole.

racerhomie3

I have seen the horrible battery life & sluggish performance given by Chromium on macOS by Edge. I prefer Edge on my iPads & iPhones much more than Edge on my macOS devices.

If I didn’t know better I would have said macs have terrible battery life. No wonder iPads & the App Store are so valuable 

lkrupp

DAalseth said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

My guess would be the opportunity to do data mining. That’s why I won’t touch Chrome with a ten foot pole.

But on the Apple Discussion Forums the Chrome browser is has a constant presence with users always asking for help with problems they have using it on their Macs and iDevices. Chrome is by far the most popular browser in the world now. That’s why I’m always saying deep down people don’t care about their data being collected.

And we should know by now that third party App stores are coming. They’ve been around for the Mac since day one and there’s no reason iOS won’t still thrive with them. Apple will make iOS as bulletproof as possible like macOS and let the consumer decide to screw themselves like they continue to do so on the Mac. 

lkrupp

racerhomie3 said:

I have seen the horrible battery life & sluggish performance given by Chromium on macOS by Edge. I prefer Edge on my iPads & iPhones much more than Edge on my macOS devices.

If I didn’t know better I would have said macs have terrible battery life. No wonder iPads & the App Store are so valuable 

Yet you reject Safari.

dope_ahmine

DAalseth said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

My guess would be the opportunity to do data mining. That’s why I won’t touch Chrome with a ten foot pole.

You mean a ten pixel pole? Cos Chrome is digital, you know.

racerhomie3

lkrupp said:

racerhomie3 said:

I have seen the horrible battery life & sluggish performance given by Chromium on macOS by Edge. I prefer Edge on my iPads & iPhones much more than Edge on my macOS devices.

If I didn’t know better I would have said macs have terrible battery life. No wonder iPads & the App Store are so valuable 

Yet you reject Safari.

I am a massive Safari user. But I do keep Edge on my devices to see the features & other new things the competitors have implemented 

davgreg

I think the option to use third party stuff should be strictly up to the end user, not some bureaucrat or weasel politician.
To be honest, Apple needs a little competition in the iOS and iPad OS space for browsers. There is a lot of differentiation between browsers available on the Macintosh and what is offered on iOS/iPad OS since all are WebKit based.

Here are the latest results of browser security on various operating systems.
https://privacytests.org/ios.html

davgreg

lkrupp said:

DAalseth said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

My guess would be the opportunity to do data mining. That’s why I won’t touch Chrome with a ten foot pole.

But on the Apple Discussion Forums the Chrome browser is has a constant presence with users always asking for help with problems they have using it on their Macs and iDevices. Chrome is by far the most popular browser in the world now. That’s why I’m always saying deep down people don’t care about their data being collected.

And we should know by now that third party App stores are coming. They’ve been around for the Mac since day one and there’s no reason iOS won’t still thrive with them. Apple will make iOS as bulletproof as possible like macOS and let the consumer decide to screw themselves like they continue to do so on the Mac. 

I was looking at the latest testing of browsers and Chrome on the Mac is about as wide open to vulnerabilities as you can find. https://privacytests.org/

danox

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

danox

davgreg said:

I think the option to use third party stuff should be strictly up to the end user, not some bureaucrat or weasel politician.
To be honest, Apple needs a little competition in the iOS and iPad OS space for browsers. There is a lot of differentiation between browsers available on the Macintosh and what is offered on iOS/iPad OS since all are WebKit based.

Here are the latest results of browser security on various operating systems.
https://privacytests.org/ios.html

Apple does have competition that competition begins when you buy the hardware you want to use. Apple is vertical computer company. Apple are the last vertical computer company in popular computing at worldwide scale, it’s not their fault that most the other vertical companies (Sun, Digital, Amiga, IBM, SGI), quit or that most people chose the Microsoft, Intel, Google way of doing things. 

Apple, is not Microsoft, Google, Intel Dell, HP, nor should they be force to be like them in mediocrity, If those companies wanna compete they can compete, but they just see an easy way out, cry to a government, and they’ll change it for you by reshuffling the deck.

gatorguy

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

The same rules that might require Apple to allow non-webkit browsers on iOS will be the same that allows non-Google default browsers on Android

danox

gatorguy said:

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

The same rules that might require Apple to allow non-webkit browsers on iOS will be the same that allows non-Google default browsers on Android. 

That has no meaning to Apple as a vertical computer company making Apple OS and Apple hardware, Apple doesn’t really have much of anything on Windows or Android except bridge utility and internet based programs, connecting their hardware to Windows primarily.

The existence of Safari, Apple Maps, Apple Pay, iMessage programs, or Apple Watch, AirPods devices , or anything else that Apple creates is designed to support Apple’s ecosystems, they primarily exist for the purpose of selling hardware, supporting your competitors get you (Apple) nowhere see AAA games for the lack of Apple Mac support. 

AAA gaming in the end can’t be solved until Apple just rolls up its sleeves and develops a couple of games to highlight their ecosystems ability to run AAA games, nothing will happen otherwise. And the same applies to everything else, Apple has had to do in the last 25 years. 

That’s what happens when you’re vertical and that’s what also what happens when you have no monopoly in any computing area, you by necessity have to do the heavy, lifting yourself because no one else will.

michelb76

Hope this gets some competition going and further improves Safari.

avon b7

danox said:

gatorguy said:

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

The same rules that might require Apple to allow non-webkit browsers on iOS will be the same that allows non-Google default browsers on Android. 

That has no meaning to Apple as a vertical computer company making Apple OS and Apple hardware, Apple doesn’t really have much of anything on Windows or Android except bridge utility and internet based programs, connecting their hardware to Windows primarily.

The existence of Safari, Apple Maps, Apple Pay, iMessage programs, or Apple Watch, AirPods devices , or anything else that Apple creates is designed to support Apple’s ecosystems, they primarily exist for the purpose of selling hardware, supporting your competitors get you (Apple) nowhere see AAA games for the lack of Apple Mac support. 

AAA gaming in the end can’t be solved until Apple just rolls up its sleeves and develops a couple of games to highlight their ecosystems ability to run AAA games, nothing will happen otherwise. And the same applies to everything else, Apple has had to do in the last 25 years. 

That’s what happens when you’re vertical and that’s what also what happens when you have no monopoly in any computing area, you by necessity have to do the heavy, lifting yourself because no one else will.

There are plenty of 'vertical' manufacturers out there. None (including Apple) are anywhere near being 100% and none (including Apple) want to be.

Verticality also extends in different directions (up and down). Apple does not go up beyond the CE market (at least on any big scale).

Google, Microsoft and Amazon have specialised in industrial, enterprise verticality with all manner of solutions. Apple has nothing comparable to what is happening there. Likewise in the world of fintech. That said, those three plus Huawei, Samsung et al also dig down into the CE market.

As for ecosystems, no one who isn't using an Apple product really sees a big difference. That is because Android, HarmonyOS etc are ecosystems in themselves (and both have fully base compatible open source variants which open market opportunities even more).

Apple using Thread/Matter is an example of where going it alone and trying to baton a system down too much, wasn't working out. 

auxio

gatorguy said:

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

The same rules that might require Apple to allow non-webkit browsers on iOS will be the same that allows non-Google default browsers on Android

Which isn't really a big problem for Google since developers still need to use their APIs to create those browsers on Android. Though I suppose in the same way Google could still harvest data at the OS level, Apple could detect and potentially prevent data harvesting at the OS level too.

danox

auxio said:

gatorguy said:

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

The same rules that might require Apple to allow non-webkit browsers on iOS will be the same that allows non-Google default browsers on Android

Which isn't really a big problem for Google since developers still need to use their APIs to create those browsers on Android. Though I suppose in the same way Google could still harvest data at the OS level, Apple could detect and potentially prevent data harvesting at the OS level too.

 For how long do you think Apple can do that before the other one percenters cry foul? In the end, what the EU wants and the United States government wants is for Apple to build the infrastructure and just turn it over to the government, and then stand back and just be HP or Dell at the low margins of profitability.

danox

auxio said:

gatorguy said:

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else. Courtesy of the EU and the American government picking winners and losers.

Apple being vertical is just too successful (it’s not the computing world they imagined 25 years ago), the other one percenters want to re-shuffle the deck, because they can’t compete with Apple straight up.

The same rules that might require Apple to allow non-webkit browsers on iOS will be the same that allows non-Google default browsers on Android

Which isn't really a big problem for Google since developers still need to use their APIs to create those browsers on Android. Though I suppose in the same way Google could still harvest data at the OS level, Apple could detect and potentially prevent data harvesting at the OS level too.

 Google is just a parasitic software ad company. Yes, they put out me too Hardware from time to time, but it never last, so they have no problems living off of Apple or Microsoft, as a parasitic company and there are many others. Spotify and Netflix who also won’t mind a reshuffle.

danox

designr said:

danox said:

ihatescreennames said:

What are the benefits to Google in using a non-WebKit based browser?

The benefits for Google, the wet dream of Google is to have Apple reduced to HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Intel level, where by Apple, just makes/provides hardware and Google gets to design and run the Internet on all popular computer hardware, with Apple being relegated to a bit player OEM hardware maker sitting on the sidelines providing generic hardware, and nothing else.

This is a tiny little itty bitty (AKA massive) exaggeration. We're talking about a f%^&-ing web browser for goodness sake.

If it was no big deal?, then Apple would not have developed Safari, which, if they had not they would be have been relegated to the back end of the computing age, the same thing applies to the Apple retail store, Apple Maps, iMessage, Apple Pay and the Apple Watch. It also extends to the M series SOC/CPU they designed, when you’re not a monopoly in any market and you’re a vertical computer company, you can’t sit back and allow other companies to determine your future or or wait for them to support you.

Notice that when each one of those Apple products became successful, the crying ensued. It’s not fair it’s not fair, but at the time of their introduction, the financial analyst’s and the tech analyst’s made fun of it, but they’re not laughing anymore. The tech one percent, want a deck reshuffle.

danox

michelb76 said:

Hope this gets some competition going and further improves Safari.

Apple does have competition that competition begins when you buy the hardware you want to use. Apple is a vertical computer company.