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The lack of Chrome on iPad is disastrous

3 points by retskrad ↗ HN
Apple’s religious stance to lock down iPadOS and only allow the Safari engine is not only anticompetitive but it’s also hurting their own costumers and the product itself.

The web versions of Gmail, Docs, Drive, and websites in general are optimized for Chrome. As long as Safari is the only greenlit browser on the platform will never be a true MacBook replacement.

Why are Apple allowed to block competing browser engines on iOS/iPadOS? Do we have to wait for EU to pass these regulations first?

7 comments

[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 39.1 ms ] thread
squigz
> Why are Apple allowed to block competing browser engines on iOS/iPadOS? Do we have to wait for EU to pass these regulations first?

Because they can, and because customers keep buying them.

dave4420
A Chrome monoculture would be worse. We saw what happened with Internet Explorer.
gregjor
Why can Google optimize their apps for their browser? Their mobile OS? Their Chromebooks and phones?

Apple locks down their platforms for security and safety. The majority of their users benefit more from not getting malware and junk apps than they miss by not having Chrome or Firefox. A small minority of users get inconvenienced. Don’t like it? Use Android.

Apple sells consumer electronics. Developers looking to replace a Macbook with an iPad — something I’ve done and written about — represent a negligible fraction of Apple’s customers.

skydhash
An iPad is fantastic for some activities like: Active reading when you can use the pencil to mark and write on the ebook; Drawing with apps like procreate; Writing with apps like iA Writer; General productivity things as many apps have iPad companions; and General browsing as it has a bigger screen than the iPhone.

AFAIK, Safari is sticking to the web standards. I use it on my Mac and all the website I visit and the web apps I'm using is working there. Only google's ones keep telling me they're not enabling some features because I'm not using Chrome. And I prefer not having this feature if it means downloading a specific browser for it. Web tech is web tech, there shouldn't be Google tech and everyone else tech.

continuational
Safari is the only popular competitor to Chromuim-based browsers, and by far the underdog of the two. Whether or not they're allowed to, what Apple does currently increases competition, rather than hampers it.

Optimizing for a single browser hampers competition for sure.

scot_hacker
Background please? Chrome has always been available for iPad OS and still is.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-chrome/id535886823

I don't choose to use it because I much prefer Safari and it does a far better job of protecting your privacy, but am just curious what you're referring to here.

nolist_policy
That Chrome is using the Safari/WebKit engine though, because Apple forbids to use any other browser engine on iOS.