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It's really a stretch to call something that's literally the only option "popular". But I agree, rendering engine is not enough to move any real needle. New bro

It's really a stretch to call something that's literally the only option "popular". But I agree, rendering engine is not enough to move any real needle. New browsers need to be able to integrate features that ios doesn't support currently that require hooking into the operating system like PWAs.

samtheprogram 4y ago
Missing from this conversation: - other browsers exist for iOS, and users seem not to care that much for the alternatives, but… - if other engines are permitted, then user-facing differentiators like extensions will make their way to competing browsers on iOS. Outside of PWAs, I can’t think of many other features other than maybe arbitrary file upload that requires more hooks into the OS (as opposed to greater control of the browser engine). Genuinely interested in hearing/thinking of more, if you have any.
- acdha 4y ago
  Other browsers exist but those are apps using the same WebKit rendering engine, which means web developers have to support that. If Blink could run natively, you’d see more promotion on Google properties to change that.
alwillis 4y ago
> It's really a stretch to call something that's literally the only option "popular". It’s not a stretch; it’s silly to say otherwise. Regardless of the rendering engine and the ability to make a 3rd-party browser the default on iOS which has been a thing for a few years now, Safari is the most popular browser on iOS and iOS runs on something like 1.5+ billion devices worldwide. Normies don’t know and don’t care about the rendering engine when they use Firefox, Brave, Chrome, etc. on iOS and yet those browsers probably have single digit installed base on iOS. And nothing would meaningfully change even if Firefox and Chrome ran natively on iOS.
- dnissley 4y ago
  I agree that rendering engine alone won't move the needle. Users may care about features though: PWAs and extensions that don't need to go through the app store review process are the big ones. Example: "Firefox has an extension that allows you to download videos from youtube -- it's way better than Safari."
  - alwillis 4y ago
    Sure, but these alternate browsers are already innovating on UI/UX on iOS. I use Brave on iOS often because it makes doing certain things easier than Safari and it’s UI is quite good.
    - dnissley 4y ago
      So you agree that browsers can increase marketshare by adding features?

samtheprogram 4y ago

Missing from this conversation: - other browsers exist for iOS, and users seem not to care that much for the alternatives, but… - if other engines are permitted, then user-facing differentiators like extensions will make their way to competing browsers on iOS. Outside of PWAs, I can’t think of many other features other than maybe arbitrary file upload that requires more hooks into the OS (as opposed to greater control of the browser engine). Genuinely interested in hearing/thinking of more, if you have any.

acdha 4y ago
Other browsers exist but those are apps using the same WebKit rendering engine, which means web developers have to support that. If Blink could run natively, you’d see more promotion on Google properties to change that.

alwillis 4y ago

> It's really a stretch to call something that's literally the only option "popular". It’s not a stretch; it’s silly to say otherwise. Regardless of the rendering engine and the ability to make a 3rd-party browser the default on iOS which has been a thing for a few years now, Safari is the most popular browser on iOS and iOS runs on something like 1.5+ billion devices worldwide. Normies don’t know and don’t care about the rendering engine when they use Firefox, Brave, Chrome, etc. on iOS and yet those browsers probably have single digit installed base on iOS. And nothing would meaningfully change even if Firefox and Chrome ran natively on iOS.

dnissley 4y ago
I agree that rendering engine alone won't move the needle. Users may care about features though: PWAs and extensions that don't need to go through the app store review process are the big ones. Example: "Firefox has an extension that allows you to download videos from youtube -- it's way better than Safari."
- alwillis 4y ago
  Sure, but these alternate browsers are already innovating on UI/UX on iOS. I use Brave on iOS often because it makes doing certain things easier than Safari and it’s UI is quite good.
  - dnissley 4y ago
    So you agree that browsers can increase marketshare by adding features?