Chrome for iPhone and iPad Getting Ready?
IS Chrome for iPhone and iPad in the making? Pedram Jabbari and I had a long conversation about this topic a few days back. It all started with an interesting entry we saw in Chromium code base. Now, businessinsider.com says Chrome is coming to iOS, quoting an analyst.
Chrome for iPhone and iPad?
While doing my regular review of recent code changes on Chrome, Chromium and Chrome OS, I found an entry mentioning iOS 5.1. Here it is
Update paths for iOS 5.1
These values can be overridden with some poorly documented and
overloaded options: –libc and –sdk-path../libvpx/configure –target=armv7-darwin-gcc –sdk-path=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer –libc=/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS5.1.sdk/
So for someone who still wants to build with the iOS 5 SDK, the last
part of the path should be iPhoneOS5.0.sdkChange-Id: Ibe93d96ae828c619700dc3222983aa4c30456b88
Patch Set 1: Verified
Build Successful
After spending more time in the code Pedram and I came to the conclusion that this is code was not really for Chrome on iOS, but may be for bringing WebM features for iPhone/iPad users.
Today’s Rumor – Chrome for iOS
Business Insider’s story today about Chrome for iOS quotes an industry analyst who believes that Chrome for iPhone and iPad is getting ready or may be even awaiting Apple’s review.
Macquarie analyst Ben Schacter has a surprising report out this morning. He writes, “Google Chrome browser for iOS is coming.” He adds, “Apple may already be reviewing Google’s submitted code for a Chrome browser for iOS.”
Schacter says we can expect a Chrome browser for iOS as soon as Q2, but if not this quarter, then definitely this year.
Chrome team is working really hard on the mobile version of Chrome and have already pushed the beta version with lot of cool features and tight integration with Chrome on PC and Mac.
If Chrome comes to iOS, it is going to give a touch competition to other mobile browser makers out there. Especially players like Opera who is having trouble keeping momentum on computers, but getting a lot of fan following for their mobile version, Opera Mini.
Any excited iPhone/iPad users here?
Image Courtesy – Lifehacker.com
One Response to “Chrome for iPhone and iPad Getting Ready?”
I find it very hard to believe that this rumor is true.
I believe Apple forbids this kind of applications in iOS, which is why Opera and FireFox are not really available for iOS.
I think Opera has Opera Mini for iPhone, which is not really a browser, but more of a viewer with some characteristics of a browser (the servers of Opera actually render the website and send it to the client for viewing/interacting).