Let’s be honest here: Apple has tight control over iOS. They dictate what you can and can not do. One of the more infuriating decisions is that Web links can only be opened in Safari instead of any other third party browser. Google has found the perfect way around that little annoyance.
For developers who want to give their users the option of opening links in Google Chrome for iOS, Google has set up a nice little piece of code for you to integrate into your app. It would appear that Chrome can only handle two URI schemes at the moment – googlechrome for http and googlechromes for https – but that should be sufficient for most developers.
You will first need to confirm that Chrome is installed on the phone via a simple string of code. It’s particularly handy for those who might change the UI of the app in the case Chrome is not installed.
After that, you will need to alter the code so that it opens the URL in Chrome. This can easily be done by changing the URL from http or https to the Google Chrome equivalent. If the app finds that Chrome is installed, it will convert the URI scheme in the URL to the Google Chrome equivalent. The URL will then be opened in a new tab.
Of course, my main concern is that Apple will close this loophole so that users are once again locked into using Safari as the default Web browser on iOS. I have nothing against Apple’s Web browser, but Chrome is better. Mozilla had better add this loophole to Mozilla Junior, their Web browser for iPad that will be launching later this year.
[h/t: Daring Fireball]