Share of iOS Safari, Chrome browsers grow as Google updates app for iPhone 5

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Google on Monday rolled out an updated version of its popular Chrome iOS web browser, bringing the multi tab-friendly experience to iOS 6 and more specifically the iPhone 5's 4-inch display, while Apple's own Safari gained over two percent share in iOS browser market.

When Google's app was first introduced in June, Chrome for iOS was thought to be the first legitimate contender to Apple's built-in Safari web browser, however it seems interest in the mobile browser has cooled with adoption rates showing only a moderate increase over the past two months.

Chrome for iOS


Initial adoption of Google's app was high, taking 1.4 percent of the iOS browser market in less than one month as a number of users were eager to try out the software's speed and much-touted compatibility with its desktop counterpart. Chrome's unique features like multi-device syncing won some critical acclaim at launch, however Safari in iOS 6 now offers the same functionality with iCloud Tabs.

Chrome Tabs


As of this writing, usage data from mobile advertising firm Chitika pegs Chrome adoption at 2.1 percent, with growth coming at the expense of other iOS browsers, not Safari, which actually gained an additional 1.2 percent market share.

iOS Browser Share
Source: Chitika


The rise in Safari usage could be a result of iDevice owners upgrading to Apple's iOS 6. Earlier on Monday, CEO Tim Cook announced that over 100 million devices had installed the new operating system since its debut less than a week ago.

Chrome is available as a free download through the iOS App Store.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 16
    Who are these people downloading chrome to their iphones when safari works perfectly especially in ios6 with full screen mode
  • Reply 2 of 16


    Originally Posted by jason98 View Post

    Who are these people downloading chrome…


     


    You can stop right there, even.

  • Reply 3 of 16

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jason98 View Post



    Who are these people downloading chrome to their iphones when safari works perfectly especially in ios6 with full screen mode


    Me, chrome is my browser of choice, on my ipad and macbook. Its the only browser that brings together my galaxy nexus, nexus 7, ipad 3 (new ipad I hate that name), macbook, samsung series 9. If only Apple would let me set it as default. Thats the only reason I didnt get an iphone 5. Until ios lets me choice my default apps, its lagging behind. But the ipad has no competition, and I love it, so so so so much. 

  • Reply 4 of 16
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member


    I'm not a programmer, so do forgive me if this is not accurate, but.........


     


    Aren't those other browsers just basically skins on top of Apple's engine? So, why even bother?

  • Reply 5 of 16
    Chrome has a nice Find in Page feature which Safari does not have but it's not full screen, so it's not appealing to me.
  • Reply 6 of 16


    Originally Posted by toysandme View Post

    Chrome has a nice Find in Page feature which Safari does not have…


     


    What feature would that be?

  • Reply 7 of 16
    Chrome for iOS is much slower than Safari. I uninstalled it.
  • Reply 8 of 16
    jason98 wrote: »
    Who are these people downloading chrome to their iphones when safari works perfectly especially in ios6 with full screen mode

    I did. I don't use it but I certainly downloaded it and tested it out.

    I am fine with Apple not allowing 3rd-party parties to the same WebKit engine it uses for Safari because there are security concerns but I do wish they would allow you the option to change your default apps for the web browser, maps, and email in Settings.

    "Apple wrote:
    [" url="/t/152848/share-of-ios-safari-chrome-browsers-grow-as-google-updates-app-for-iphone-5#post_2197531"]I'm not a programmer, so do forgive me if this is not accurate, but.........

    Aren't those other browsers just basically skins on top of Apple's engine? So, why even bother?

    Not a skin which is just a veneer change with no feature change. it's a full-fledged app, it just uses iOS's built in engine for the backend per the developer agreement.

    The reason people like the options is because it offers different features. Same goes for Maps, YouTube, Podcasts, Stocks, Weather, Mail, and many other apps that Apple supplies or supplied on their devices.

    bighype wrote: »
    Chrome for iOS is much slower than Safari. I uninstalled it.

    That's something Google can do nothing about. Apple doesn't give the WebKit engine it uses for Safari to 3rd-party developers for security reasons so Chrome for iOS is signifcantly slower in rendering certain types of code.
  • Reply 9 of 16
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member


    Why would anyone buy an iPhone, only to let Google track their usage and surfing history with Chrome for iOS? 


     


    I can see using a secondary browser for a feature like ad blocking, but what good would that do if the browser history is still being sent to Google's servers?

  • Reply 10 of 16
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by toysandme View Post



    Chrome has a nice Find in Page feature which Safari does not have but it's not full screen, so it's not appealing to me.


     


    ???


     


    Safari's search field gives "On This Page" matches in a separate section of the dropdown.  Select it and it takes you to the first link.  The right arrow icon takes you to additional matches, the left arrow to previous matches.  You can split the keyboard, dock or undock the keyboard, or hide the keyboard entirely with the keyboard key at the bottom-right corner of the keyboard.  That's true regardless of which search engine is your default (Yahoo, Google, or Bing).


     


    BTW, it works the same way with PDF documents, except the search results dropdown says "In This Document".

  • Reply 11 of 16

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Aren't those other browsers just basically skins on top of Apple's engine?



     


    No, not exactly. It does use the same WebCore and JavascriptCore that Mobile Safari uses (Apple requires this), but the network stack is different. For example, Chrome for iOS supports SPDY; Mobile Safari doesn't. See this great talk on WebKit internals for more specifics. 


     


    It's important to have browser diversity on a platform. iOS 6 improved Mobile Safari quite a bit but it did add some bugs. It's caching HTTP POST data in violation of the spec (more detail here), and limiting connections to web servers, which can cause issues for AJAX-style web apps. Chrome for iOS isn't affected by these bugs.

  • Reply 12 of 16
    Chrome rocks ;)
  • Reply 13 of 16

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Techstalker View Post


    Me, chrome is my browser of choice, on my ipad and macbook. Its the only browser that brings together my galaxy nexus, nexus 7, ipad 3 (new ipad I hate that name), macbook, samsung series 9. If only Apple would let me set it as default. Thats the only reason I didnt get an iphone 5. Until ios lets me choice my default apps, its lagging behind. But the ipad has no competition, and I love it, so so so so much. 



    Yeah I use Chrome most of the time now. Apple really should let us choose our default browser. It is kinda like the internet explorer/windows debacle of several years ago...too tied to the os. No choice is a step backwards.

  • Reply 14 of 16
    When I updated the app, it warned me that the app contained material for people 17+. Didn't know the Internet contained things like that! /s
  • Reply 15 of 16

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by jason98 View Post



    Who are these people downloading chrome to their iphones when safari works perfectly especially in ios6 with full screen mode


     


    Multisyncing tabs and history across every computer I use is a big reason why I have it, Safari can't do that. Day to day I probably use both 50/50 on the iPhone. 

  • Reply 16 of 16
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by thataveragejoe View Post


     


    Multisyncing tabs and history across every computer I use is a big reason why I have it, Safari can't do that. Day to day I probably use both 50/50 on the iPhone. 



     


    Seems like features in search of a problem to me. 


     


    I can see sync'ed bookmarks or "reading lists", but I'm not sure I could make a case for needing sync'ed tabs (even though Safari will do that), and syncing browser history seems like something you'd throw in because you could, not because it's something of value.


     


    It's seems like some of you guys are comparing the feature summaries, finding the differences, and then making up fantasy use cases where you pretend to need some esoteric feature that no one in the real world cares about.

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