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This is an excellent article. You should be able to choose a browser and then use it in all situations. Google Search only using Chrome, Apple only allowing t

by jefftk 5y ago

This is an excellent article. You should be able to choose a browser and then use it in all situations. Google Search only using Chrome, Apple only allowing their own browser, Facebook and others pushing us into their own in-app browsers, all of this makes things worse for users. (Disclosure: I work at Google, speaking only for myself.)

tantalor 5y ago
You can disable embedded chrome in Google app; https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7013866?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7013866?hl=en&co...
- dna_polymerase 5y ago
  It's probably a good sign that you had to tell this the Google engineer.
  - jefftk 5y ago
    I did know you can turn it off. But I want setting a default browser that supports the Custom Tabs protocol (ex: Firefox) to make that browser be used any time an app asks for a custom tab, without any additional steps.
    - tadfisher 5y ago
      This is currently not possible because the filtering is done by the application calling CCT. The default CCT library implementation explicitly filters on the list of known Chrome app IDs and the app has to explicitly work around this filtering by trying the default browser first before falling back to the default CCT call.
      - jefftk 5y ago
        It sounds like you're saying that this is currently not possible because it's currently not implemented that way? But of course! I'm saying they should change it so that the application asking for a custom tab can only request "please give me a custom tab".
        tadfisher 5y ago
        I'm saying it's not possible at the OS level because the filtering is done in application code. CCT is not an OS service, it's a client library and a service IDL. Updating the library to remove the ability to filter by application ID is similarly not possible because binding to specific application IDs is not unique to CCT, it's simply how binding to services works on Android.
        mulletbum 5y ago
        You lost me. Are you saying that the people who make Android OS can't reprogram Android OS? That is all this person is saying.
        tadfisher 5y ago
        That's not what they're saying. The "chrome custom tabs" feature is a service interface exposed by an application, not the OS. There is no "open a custom tab" feature provided by Android. Therefore applications have to locate an installed browser that is known to support CCT before asking that application to start a Custom Tabs activity. The involvement of the OS in this interaction is to show the calling activity a list of applications that handle the ACTION_VIEW intent for URLs, and to bind the browser's CCT service to the interface for the client. The clients are the one choosing to only interact with Chrome at this point!
- wayneftw 5y ago
  Not in Google maps on iOS though.
  - lstamour 5y ago
    Data sample of 1, here, but I tapped a link in Google Maps on iOS 15 and it opened using regular embedded Safari, not Chrome or anything remotely Chrome-like. It uses SFSafariViewController and there’s a button at the top to go back to Chrome (Done), it animates in from the bottom, and you can tap an icon in the lower right corner to open in Safari or another browser. Safari is set as my default browser. I changed by default browser to Chrome and the same thing happened, Google Maps still used SFSafariViewController. I like it. :)
    - wayneftw 5y ago
      It's an embedded browser. When I click a web link in an app, I want my browser app to open it. There's no option in Google maps to do this.
      - fragmede 5y ago
        The button, bottom right, opens the page in Safari, and is standard across all iOS apps implementing that webview. In what way(s) is that not what you are looking for?
        wayneftw 5y ago
        I just want it to open my default browser on the first click. There's a setting for that now. Otherwise the history is lost, among other things.
        lstamour 5y ago
        It’s a usability trade off in some ways. Some people will find it confusing that a link opens their web browser. They might ask how to go back to Google Maps. This way there’s a balance. They can quickly preview the link, and if they want to keep it, they can open it intentionally in their browser or share/copy the link with one tap. Users who don’t understand how tabs work won’t find their browsing interrupted by every webpage an app throws their way. But indeed, that doesn’t prevent an app maker such as Google Maps from making it a preference. Technically if Apple made it a preference it might break the expected UI for apps using the control. And as I noted before, there are advantages to previewing links this way, it encourages users to stay within the app. There is no technical reason why it doesn’t log history events when loaded. It could send a message to the default browser or keep a log in the background and let the browser know when it next launches, and arguably for consistency Apple should design such a feature.
Jcowell 5y ago
I think this should be looked at a lens of what’s net gained and net loss. From my point of view , if Apple was to allow other engines on their devices chrome will be the de-facto winner. No Apple is not going to try to make Safari compete with chrome , especially on windows. No developers are not NOT going to use Chrome as their target browser and use Chrome push standards Yes people will switch over to chrome since it will be the one browser developers will target for sure to make sure every hiring works. All it takes if for one website to recommend it in order for users to switch. Ironically the only thing saving the web from complete Google Control is the opposite of competition. I do not see a scenario where competition does occur and Google doesn’t win. Especially on a service they’re not willing to put in their death bin.
- SPBS 5y ago
  It’s fine, a lot of people still use Safari on desktop despite Google Chrome being available. And developers have to support it all the same
  - sbuk 5y ago
    The same was true when IE dominated. The point being missed is if a single browser is allowed to dominate across the board, the owners of the technology become the gatekeepers of web technologies. That would have been extremely bad under Microsoft, and it is going that way with Google. In fact, there was a groundswell of negativity towards WebKit until Google broke the hegemony with by forking it, creating Blink. Which is now in a significantly more dominant position than WebKit ever was. I’m not suggesting that Apple would be any better or that not allowing other browser engines is a good thing. However, the fact that they don’t is keeping Google/Chrome/Blink from having total dominance of the web.
  - cbovis 5y ago
    I'm a regular desktop Safari user and you'd be surprised how many websites are just flat out broken in Safari, especially government sites. Part of the reason I use it as my daily driver is to ensure that the websites I'm working on get tested properly in Safari since the defacto browser for most developers seems to be Chrome.
EastSmith 5y ago
Windows search also uses IE / Edge when you search through the start menu, and this can not be changed as far as I know. Hope they rethink that for Windows 11.
Akronymus 5y ago
Do you by chance know how to remove the annoying search bar at the bottom of the homescreen without having to install a separate launcher or rooting the phone?

by jefftk 5y ago

tantalor 5y ago

You can disable embedded chrome in Google app; https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7013866?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7013866?hl=en&co...

dna_polymerase 5y ago
It's probably a good sign that you had to tell this the Google engineer.
- jefftk 5y ago
  I did know you can turn it off. But I want setting a default browser that supports the Custom Tabs protocol (ex: Firefox) to make that browser be used any time an app asks for a custom tab, without any additional steps.
  - tadfisher 5y ago
    This is currently not possible because the filtering is done by the application calling CCT. The default CCT library implementation explicitly filters on the list of known Chrome app IDs and the app has to explicitly work around this filtering by trying the default browser first before falling back to the default CCT call.
    - jefftk 5y ago
      It sounds like you're saying that this is currently not possible because it's currently not implemented that way? But of course! I'm saying they should change it so that the application asking for a custom tab can only request "please give me a custom tab".
      - tadfisher 5y ago
        I'm saying it's not possible at the OS level because the filtering is done in application code. CCT is not an OS service, it's a client library and a service IDL. Updating the library to remove the ability to filter by application ID is similarly not possible because binding to specific application IDs is not unique to CCT, it's simply how binding to services works on Android.
        mulletbum 5y ago
        You lost me. Are you saying that the people who make Android OS can't reprogram Android OS? That is all this person is saying.
        tadfisher 5y ago
        That's not what they're saying. The "chrome custom tabs" feature is a service interface exposed by an application, not the OS. There is no "open a custom tab" feature provided by Android. Therefore applications have to locate an installed browser that is known to support CCT before asking that application to start a Custom Tabs activity. The involvement of the OS in this interaction is to show the calling activity a list of applications that handle the ACTION_VIEW intent for URLs, and to bind the browser's CCT service to the interface for the client. The clients are the one choosing to only interact with Chrome at this point!
wayneftw 5y ago
Not in Google maps on iOS though.
- lstamour 5y ago
  Data sample of 1, here, but I tapped a link in Google Maps on iOS 15 and it opened using regular embedded Safari, not Chrome or anything remotely Chrome-like. It uses SFSafariViewController and there’s a button at the top to go back to Chrome (Done), it animates in from the bottom, and you can tap an icon in the lower right corner to open in Safari or another browser. Safari is set as my default browser. I changed by default browser to Chrome and the same thing happened, Google Maps still used SFSafariViewController. I like it. :)
  - wayneftw 5y ago
    It's an embedded browser. When I click a web link in an app, I want my browser app to open it. There's no option in Google maps to do this.
    - fragmede 5y ago
      The button, bottom right, opens the page in Safari, and is standard across all iOS apps implementing that webview. In what way(s) is that not what you are looking for?
      - wayneftw 5y ago
        I just want it to open my default browser on the first click. There's a setting for that now. Otherwise the history is lost, among other things.
        lstamour 5y ago
        It’s a usability trade off in some ways. Some people will find it confusing that a link opens their web browser. They might ask how to go back to Google Maps. This way there’s a balance. They can quickly preview the link, and if they want to keep it, they can open it intentionally in their browser or share/copy the link with one tap. Users who don’t understand how tabs work won’t find their browsing interrupted by every webpage an app throws their way. But indeed, that doesn’t prevent an app maker such as Google Maps from making it a preference. Technically if Apple made it a preference it might break the expected UI for apps using the control. And as I noted before, there are advantages to previewing links this way, it encourages users to stay within the app. There is no technical reason why it doesn’t log history events when loaded. It could send a message to the default browser or keep a log in the background and let the browser know when it next launches, and arguably for consistency Apple should design such a feature.

Jcowell 5y ago

I think this should be looked at a lens of what’s net gained and net loss. From my point of view , if Apple was to allow other engines on their devices chrome will be the de-facto winner. No Apple is not going to try to make Safari compete with chrome , especially on windows. No developers are not NOT going to use Chrome as their target browser and use Chrome push standards Yes people will switch over to chrome since it will be the one browser developers will target for sure to make sure every hiring works. All it takes if for one website to recommend it in order for users to switch. Ironically the only thing saving the web from complete Google Control is the opposite of competition. I do not see a scenario where competition does occur and Google doesn’t win. Especially on a service they’re not willing to put in their death bin.

SPBS 5y ago
It’s fine, a lot of people still use Safari on desktop despite Google Chrome being available. And developers have to support it all the same
- sbuk 5y ago
  The same was true when IE dominated. The point being missed is if a single browser is allowed to dominate across the board, the owners of the technology become the gatekeepers of web technologies. That would have been extremely bad under Microsoft, and it is going that way with Google. In fact, there was a groundswell of negativity towards WebKit until Google broke the hegemony with by forking it, creating Blink. Which is now in a significantly more dominant position than WebKit ever was. I’m not suggesting that Apple would be any better or that not allowing other browser engines is a good thing. However, the fact that they don’t is keeping Google/Chrome/Blink from having total dominance of the web.
- cbovis 5y ago
  I'm a regular desktop Safari user and you'd be surprised how many websites are just flat out broken in Safari, especially government sites. Part of the reason I use it as my daily driver is to ensure that the websites I'm working on get tested properly in Safari since the defacto browser for most developers seems to be Chrome.

EastSmith 5y ago

Windows search also uses IE / Edge when you search through the start menu, and this can not be changed as far as I know. Hope they rethink that for Windows 11.

Akronymus 5y ago

Do you by chance know how to remove the annoying search bar at the bottom of the homescreen without having to install a separate launcher or rooting the phone?