4 ms·

Without being jailbroken it is nearly impossible to properly utilize alternative browsers. I particularly enjoy being able to choose my default browser (and map

Without being jailbroken it is nearly impossible to properly utilize alternative browsers. I particularly enjoy being able to choose my default browser (and mapping choice) for links. If when I click a link it always opens In safari, I end up using that browser a lot more than I would given a choice. Apple also hamstrings alternative browsers by not allowing them the ability to utilize the nitro JavaScript engine. The tweak nitrous allows chrome and other apps with in-app browsers the ability to do so, but it shouldn't have to be this way!

matthewmacleod 11y ago
I would point out that WKWebView in iOS 8 provides full Nitro support, so that's no longer an issue. I'm not sure if browsers are using this yet, though – there was some talk about difficulties with certain features.
- matznerd 11y ago
  That is good to know. Is there a way to check whether an app is utilizing it or not?
  - LeoNatan25 11y ago
    No major browser uses `WKWebView` because it has very large gaping design holes, making it a bad choice for a browser.
    - rockdoe 11y ago
      Firefox for iOS is. But yes, the gaping holes make making something competitive problematic.
      - LeoNatan25 11y ago
        Hm, I wasn't actually familiar with the Firefox for iOS project as a real project, just plan. Thanks
        rockdoe 11y ago
        https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-ios https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-ios Pretty active development. No releases on the app store, though.
        nileshtrivedi 11y ago
        Their blog post on May 22 about it: https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/05/22/update-on-firefox-for-ios/ https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/05/22/update-on...
        st3fan 11y ago
        No promises, but we are in the end game for v1.0. Stay tuned.
        LeoNatan25 11y ago
        I see you guys are developing some of it in Swift. Should be interesting once Xcode 7 arrives and the amount of changes it requires. I think you might have jumped the gun a little. In my project, I implemented a small component in Swift, and was a pain to convert. The automatic source upgrade tool did a terrible job, doing more damage than good.

matthewmacleod 11y ago

I would point out that WKWebView in iOS 8 provides full Nitro support, so that's no longer an issue. I'm not sure if browsers are using this yet, though – there was some talk about difficulties with certain features.

matznerd 11y ago
That is good to know. Is there a way to check whether an app is utilizing it or not?
- LeoNatan25 11y ago
  No major browser uses `WKWebView` because it has very large gaping design holes, making it a bad choice for a browser.
  - rockdoe 11y ago
    Firefox for iOS is. But yes, the gaping holes make making something competitive problematic.
    - LeoNatan25 11y ago
      Hm, I wasn't actually familiar with the Firefox for iOS project as a real project, just plan. Thanks
      - rockdoe 11y ago
        https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-ios https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-ios Pretty active development. No releases on the app store, though.
        nileshtrivedi 11y ago
        Their blog post on May 22 about it: https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/05/22/update-on-firefox-for-ios/ https://blog.mozilla.org/futurereleases/2015/05/22/update-on...
        st3fan 11y ago
        No promises, but we are in the end game for v1.0. Stay tuned.
        LeoNatan25 11y ago
        I see you guys are developing some of it in Swift. Should be interesting once Xcode 7 arrives and the amount of changes it requires. I think you might have jumped the gun a little. In my project, I implemented a small component in Swift, and was a pain to convert. The automatic source upgrade tool did a terrible job, doing more damage than good.