Chrome, Google Inc’s Internet browser, will be made available on the iPhone and iPad, two hot devices manufactured by Google’s fierce rival Apple Inc.
The development, announced on Thursday at Google’s I/O developer conference in San Francisco, could further expand the reach of Chrome in the intensely fought browser wars. Launched in 2008, Google’s browser overtook Microsoft’s Internet Explorer in May as the world’s most popular, according to analytics company StatCounter.
Google Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai confirmed Chrome’s pole position during his remarks onstage, saying that Google data showed the browser now has 310 million “active” users. Chrome will begin appearing in Apple’s App Store later on Thursday, Pichai said.
Apple in recent months has sought to lessen its dependency on Google’s Web services within its products, heightening the competition between the two tech companies. Earlier this month, the phone and tablet manufacturer said it would load its own home-built mapping service in next version of mobile OS instead of Google Maps.
Earlier this week, Google announced its own tablet, the Nexus 7, which will ship with Chrome as its default browser.
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