Chrome for iOS suddenly appeared in the App Store yesterday afternoon, and we’ve been testing it out since. It’s fast, simple, syncs well with other devices and in most areas is much better than Apple’s built-in iDevice Web browser, Safari. In fact, Chrome for iOS is so good, it just replaced Safari in my dock.
The app is fast and smooth (although not faster than Safari as Google is forced to use Safari’s WebKit engine), and features everyones favorite OmniBar. By far the most usefull features are the grid-style bookmarks, the ability to open bookmarks from other devices and being able to quickly restore closed tabs, just like in the desktop version.
From the application’s release notes:
Browse fast with Chrome, now available on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Sign in to sync your personalized Chrome experience from your computer, and bring it with you anywhere you go.
Search fast
• Search and navigate fast, directly from the same box. Choose from results that appear as you type.Simple, intuitive experience
• Open and quickly switch between an unlimited number of tabs. On your iPhone and iPod touch, flip through tabs the way you would fan a deck of cards. On iPad, swipe from edge to edge to switch tabs.Sign in
• Sign in to Chrome to sync your open tabs, bookmarks, passwords, and omnibox data from your computer to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Pick up right where you left off.
• Send pages from Chrome on your computer to your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad with one click and read them on the go, even if you’re offline.Privacy
• Open a tab in Incognito* to browse without saving your history. To learn more, please visit: http://goo.gl/WUx02
As an avid desktop Chrome user, I love Chrome for iOS. Even if it doesn’t replace Safari for you, you should seriously consider it as permanent addition to your Home screen. You can download it for free here.
