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Chrome for iOS gets Material redesign, OS X Handoff support, iOS 8/iPhone 6 optimizations

Google is today rolling out Chrome 40 for iOS and with it introducing a redesigned UI, OS X Handoff support, and optimizations for iOS 8 and the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Google is giving the entire app for both iPhone and iPad an overhaul based on its new “Material Design” design language introduced with its latest Android release. That includes “bold graphics, fluid motion, and tactile surfaces,” according to Google, as pictured in the iPhone screenshots above.

Here’s a look at the redesigned app on iPad:

The updated app also gains support for Apple’s Handoff feature, which allows users to pick up where they left off in one app in another on OS X. The Chrome iOS app now supports “handoff from Chrome to your default browser on OS X,” allowing users to jump from Chrome on iOS to Safari or any other default browser on a Mac (pictured below):

Version 40 of Chrome for iOS also brings optimizations for iOS 8 and the larger screens of the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

The updated Chrome app for iPhone and iPad is rolling out to the App Store now.

What’s New in Version 40.0.2214.61

• New look with Material Design bringing bold graphics, fluid motion, and tactile surfaces
• iOS 8 optimizations and support for bigger phones
• Support handoff from Chrome to your default browser on OS X
• Stability improvements and bug fixes

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Comments

  1. Dean Lubaki - 9 years ago

    Great! Love the design.

  2. rogifan - 9 years ago

    What does Material Design have to do with iOS? If I wanted that I’d buy an Android phone.

    • poldev - 9 years ago

      It has to do w/ Google products so they’re using a coherent design across all platforms. Personally, I love it.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        They should restrict their design to THEIR platform, and adhere to the design ethos of iOS when developing for that platform. This just shoves Material Design crap down the throats of iOS users, and fragments the UX on iOS.

      • 100% with you Edison.

      • rogifan - 9 years ago

        As an iOS user I don’t want a fragmented UI/UX experience. It’s confusing when 99% of your apps look and behave a certain way but then Google’s apps are different. If they want to push this pretentious ‘material design’ crap on their own platforms fine. But on iOS they should adhere to iOS guidelines.

      • thejuanald - 9 years ago

        rogifan, speaking of pretentious…wow.

      • thejuanald - 9 years ago

        Edison, do you think Apple should restrict their design to their platform as well and make iTunes and Safari for the PC look like Windows 8.1? I hate when Apple shoves their OSX crap down my throat (Actually, I would never use iTunes or Safari on my Parallels or Bootcamp versions of Windows, but you get my point).

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        I’m sorry, but are you trying to grasp at straws here? Apple pulled Safari from the Windows platform some time ago, and iTunes still contains GUI elements and UX workflows corresponding to Windows, so while it does have the general flavour of Apple, it’s still in-line with a Windows application.

        At least Apple still tries to follow Microsoft GUI guidelines for developing software by incorporating the proper OS navigation elements menu structures. This crap from Google COMPLETELY shoves aside any semblance of iOS in favour of a non-iOS UX.

        It’s obvious you don’t like Apple, especially referring to “OS X crap”, so why the hell are you on an Apple news / fan site? Don’t you have better things to do than antagonize Apple users?

      • thejuanald - 9 years ago

        You do understand with “OS X crap” I was directly quoting your previous post, right? I actually really like Apple. My Macbook Air is awesome. I don’t really care for iOS that much (I like customization), which is why I switched to a Note 3 after my 4S. I also have an iPad 3rd generation and a Surface Pro 2. I’m not a crazy brand loyalist like you who will say that everything that is made by Apple is a godsend and everything that isn’t Apple is horrible (until Apple applies it to their products).

    • frankman91 - 9 years ago

      Did you even look at the article? The entire thing has to do with OSX and iOS.

    • Rich (@rawe) - 9 years ago

      This is entirely to do with providing a consistent, cross-platform user experience for Google apps while reinforcing their unique branding at the same time – it makes perfect sense.

      Apple have applied the same thinking themselves with previous iterations of Safari and iTunes for the PC.

      Concerned it fragments the UI? Then, we have a perfectly good iOS 8 designed browser for you to play with fully integrated into the OS.

    • mrobertson21 - 9 years ago

      Wow, I know right? If only there was SOME way we could choose not to install it!

  3. Ario (@ArioYazdan) - 9 years ago

    I’ve grown to really like this design, it’s also vey simple to navigate.

  4. Jason Frost - 9 years ago

    Weird. When I open ‘Chrome’ on my iPhone 6, I see the handoff as being Safari on my Mac. I opened a different webpage on my iPhone and then clicked the handoff, and it did open to the webpage I had open on Chrome.

  5. Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

    Another freaking Google app for iOS attempting to Android-ify iOS, no thanks.

    • poldev - 9 years ago

      Well then, just don’t install it. But it’s good for the users to be able to choose. I’ll stay with Chrome.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        Sorry, but if you stay with Chrome, then you obviously don’t value your privacy, and don’t seem to mind sacrificing a good chunk of performance to that hunk of crap.

      • thejuanald - 9 years ago

        Edison, you do understand that the reason Chrome will never be as fast as Safari on mobile devices is because of Apple restrictions, right? All Google is allowed to do is basically make a skin that goes over Safari. Apple would never allow Chrome to be fully functional on their device. Their walled garden can’t have something that is actually better than what they tell you to like, can it?

  6. Phil Mazza (@Egress99) - 9 years ago

    All I want from Chrome on iOS is the simple gesture of swipe to go fwd or back in browser history…not change tabs.

  7. Jeffrey Nieves - 9 years ago

    Lol. The funny thing is at this point more iOS devices probably feature material design than android because of Lollipop’s minuscule adoption.

  8. Just… NO! Google put your crap apps to your crapdroid.

  9. standardpull - 9 years ago

    Google provides zero protection, and so NO THANKS.

    Google puts in all this work and they Google STILL completely fails to put in any real privacy management enhancements. Chrome is the bottom of the barrel when it comes to personal privacy protections. Why? Because they make a boatload of money by selling your private data to the highest bidder.

    No thanks, Google. You fail AGAIN.

  10. Andrew Wood - 9 years ago

    I’m starting to notice that Material Design already looks extremely dated next to iOS 8 UI. Maybe Jony was onto something after all. There’s a huge difference between canned animations in a static UI and a true dynamic UI like iOS.

    • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

      Agreed… Even looking at the screenshots of Chrome, MD looks worse and more primitive than Windows Modern (Metro) UI.

    • rogifan - 9 years ago

      I don’t see what the big deal is about material design. Just the fact that Google had to call it that comes across as very pretensious. To me it’s basically ‘flat’ design with shadows everywhere and animations that most people don’t care about.

      • I’m not even an Android fan but making a mockery of “flat designs” is a bit hypocritical if your an Apple user – or would you prefer to hark back to the faux leather/notepad effects you where using on your iPhone 18 months ago and on your Mac 6 months back?

        As for Google coming across as pretentious then trust me on this – there is no company on the planet more pretentious than Apple. Watch one of their product presentations where they talk about laser cut aluminum, retina screens and the like.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

        Spoken by one of the resident trolls who no one actually believes or trusts, and just tolerate…

      • Edison – do you REALLY think I care one jot what you or anyone else thinks about me on here? I point out hypocrisy because I don’t like it. I don’t attack Apple or get personal for no reason like Herb does, and as I have mentioned to you countless times before, my opinion is no more or less valid than yours. I know that. You don’t purely because of how arrogant you are and that manifests itself in your personal attacks. Your holier than thou, spoiled child attitude is the reason why true Apple fans get bad names. You bandy the word troll around to anyone who has a different opinion to yours, while blindly criticising all things non-Apple related – which makes you a hypocrite.

        You’re a parody of Herb, you just don’t realise it.

  11. Taste_of_Apple - 9 years ago

    Some nice additions to Chrome for iOS. I stopped using Chrome long ago, but I do think it will appeal to iOS Google lovers. However, I agree that they should stop pushing material design so hard on iOS as it disrupts the experience of using it. I like the way Apple designed iOS. If I wanted material design (which is pretty nice admittedly) I’d go get an android phone.

  12. Robotic Pony - 9 years ago

    Is it still just a wrapper around Safari?

    • bfredit - 9 years ago

      Yeah, if Apple doesn’t loosen up their restrictions on browsers it will always be.

      Unfortunately this version of Chrome still uses UIWebView instead the new WKWebView (iOS 8), which offers a better experience and performance.

  13. Jenny Ralph - 9 years ago

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Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.