Google has updated their Chrome for iOS mobile web browser with Passbook support, the ability to open PDFs in other apps and more.

mzl

What's New in Version 23.0.1271.91

- Open PDFs in other apps
- Save your boarding passes and tickets with Passbook
- Seeing garbled characters? Turn on text encoding detection in settings.
- Stability and security improvements
- Many bug fixes

The browser will prompt the user to add a ticket or boarding pass to Passbook if the site supports Passbook and .pkpass file types. Chrome for iOS is the mobile version of their full featured Google Chrome web browser for desktops and is available for free for both iPad and iPhone in the App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

KnightWRX Avatar
169 months ago
You know - it's things like this that make me... sad.

Chrome is on the same open source version of WebKit that Apple has funded for the past 10 years.

It doesn't have the nitro engine, which Apple spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars developing - for Safari, not WebKit.

Freeloaders like Google should write their own engine for the app, not ask Apple to give them theirs for free.
3 things :

- WebKit is not an Apple project. It was originally known as KHTML/KJS (http://lists.kde.org/?l=kfm-devel&m=104197092318639&w=2), a LGPL'ed HTML/Javascript engine made by the KDE project (http://www.kde.org). Apple forked the code base around version 3.0.2 and renamed it WebKit (yes, KHTML/KJS was already pretty advanced, and was powering what I considered the best browser at the time, Konqueror).

- Google surpassed Apple for Webkit commits (http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/06/google-apple-webkit/) around 2010. Also, the Webkit team is not "funded by Apple", it's quite evenly distributed (http://trac.webkit.org/wiki/WebKit%20Team) with even outsiders.

- Google has their own Javascript engine in the desktop version of Chrome : V8 (http://code.google.com/p/v8/). Apple doesn't allow 3rd party Javascript/HTML rendering engines in the App store, otherwise I'm pretty sure Google would simply incorporate V8 and let Apple have its little fun time with Nitro on its own. As it stands, Apple is artificially limiting competition in the Browser arena on iOS.

So maybe your vitriol is misplaced here. It is apparently quite ignorant of the reality behind WebKit, the App Store model and development in general too.

The more you know.

----------

Nope, a lot more people use the Chrome app than the YouTube app.
The YouTube app still doesn't support AirPlay or the iPad, why would anyone want to use that?

The Youtube is ranked #3 in the App Store this morning, Chrome sits at #57, the free app section.

However, Google does not share's Apple management policies and has such, doesn't have small core teams that they assign to projects based on priorities. Google has a Chrome team, and they have a Youtube team. Both are independant of each other and are not a single entity where work on one project interferes with work on another.

So "update Youtube first" makes no sense. Why should the Chrome team twiddle their thumbs and not provide updates if they can ? Why should they wait for the Youtube team ?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adcx64 Avatar
169 months ago
Keeps getting better. Now if only Apple would let the 3rd party apps get the same version of WebKit as safari so it's on par with speed.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Prodo123 Avatar
169 months ago
Yeah, a lot more people use the YouTube app than Chrome.
Update that first please.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
a0me Avatar
169 months ago
Yeah, a lot more people use the YouTube app than Chrome.
Update that first please.
Nope, a lot more people use the Chrome app than the YouTube app.
The YouTube app still doesn't support AirPlay or the iPad, why would anyone want to use that?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VPrime Avatar
169 months ago
You know - it's things like this that make me... sad.

Chrome is on the same open source version of WebKit that Apple has funded for the past 10 years.

It doesn't have the nitro engine, which Apple spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars developing - for Safari, not WebKit.

Freeloaders like Google should write their own engine for the app, not ask Apple to give them theirs for free.
Except this is against apples developer guidelines.
Users must use the built in Webkit UI Webview for any apps that want to display a website.
Unfortunately this does not include the nitro enhancements.

Google and almost every developer ever would LOVE to be able to use their own web renderer in iOS. But they cant.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spyguy10709 Avatar
169 months ago
Keeps getting better. Now if only Apple would let the 3rd party apps get the same version of WebKit as safari so it's on par with speed.

You know - it's things like this that make me... sad.

Chrome is on the same open source version of WebKit that Apple has funded for the past 10 years.

It doesn't have the nitro engine, which Apple spent hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars developing - for Safari, not WebKit.

Freeloaders like Google should write their own engine for the app, not ask Apple to give them theirs for free.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Apple Foldable Thumb

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Friday October 31, 2025 8:52 am PDT by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that have been leaked about Apple's foldable iPhone so far. Ove...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
apple tv hd

Apple Launched Its Big New Vision for TV 10 Years Ago Today

Thursday October 30, 2025 8:58 am PDT by
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device. The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
iOS 26

Apple This November: iOS 26.2 Beta, Rumored New Products, and More

Thursday October 30, 2025 12:42 pm PDT by
Tomorrow is Halloween, and then November is upon us. Below, we outline what to expect from Apple next month, as the slower holiday season approaches. Apple is expected to kick off November by releasing iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, tvOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1. With beta testing now wrapped up, the updates will likely be released this Monday, November 3 or Tuesday,...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...