How Google managed to bring their interface paradigms closer to the bone and Apple didn't even notice

Jan 21, 2015 00:17 GMT  ·  By

Google is doing a smart thing: they shove their software down people’s throats by releasing better stuff. And by better I don't mean software that's better than the existing stock iOS one, but better versions of their own apps. 

Take Chrome for example. Their iOS app was buggy. Cool, useful, but still buggy. Google was not able to fix simple annoyances like syncing tabs.

It just works. The Google way

A new version of Chrome for iPhone and iPad came out today from Google. It’s 40.0. Wow! That’s a high number. I remember when their desktop version was at 16. I wonder what are they going to do in 10 years. Release version 230? That would be pretty odd.

Anyway, the new iOS version brings a new look with material design. They say it has "bold graphics, fluid motion, and tactile surfaces.” I see it as a more complicated interface.

When there’s no tab open, for example, on the iPad version, you can see some lines and shadows. The tabs are pointy and they seem to take more space from the upper limit of the screen.

But version 40.0 brings something I wouldn’t have thought Google would fix anytime soon. Syncing just works. Open a tab on your computer and it will show up on the iPad. Close it on the computer and it will be gone from the iPad. Yes, I know this is how it should have worked in the first place, but it is nice to see they finally figured that out.

On the other hand, I don’t see the point of having a Bookmarks folder with 3 other folders in it: Mobile Bookmarks, Desktop Bookmarks and Other Bookmarks. Doesn’t everyone just use one set of Bookmarks?

Where's that button?

Getting back to the main topic. I find it a bit strange for Google to shove their software in our face. Having an Android interface on an iOS device isn’t always the best choice. After all, you do not have the same buttons on the device itself. There's no home, right click or back button so they had to add extra menus to the app itself.

On the other hand, Google had to add a button to get to the share extensions. Fortunately, these are the ones on the stock iOS Share Sheet, not some made up ones chosen by Google.

And since we are talking about bringing stuff from other platforms to iOS, Google has to bring extensions to their browser. I would imagine that the first mobile browser that will get AdBlock, 1Password and a few other extensions to work will win this war forever. Yes, I know Apple may not allow that. At least not in this iteration of iOS.

And the last smart thing Google is doing with Chrome is the integration of Google Now, their intelligent personal assistant that competes to Siri. There's no need to open up Siri when you have Chrome for iOS right there. Just tap the little microphone icon in the right-hand side of the Omnibar.

There's one detail that can take this whole thing into the wrong direction. With the development of apps like Microsoft Office for iOS we have seen new interfaces coming from Windows.

I'm not saying Apple should impose their HIG on all these apps, but it may get confusing for users that are looking for a share button or a settings menu to hunt for them in the interfaces of apps coming from other platforms and bringing their paradigms.

Ship Early, Ship Often

Google has taken this approach a couple of years ago. This is why Chrome has gotten to version 40.0 so fast. They do not wait for the app to be perfect in any way, or for a special occasion. If a feature is done you will see it in a minor update, even if we're talking about a redesign.

Rolling fast updates has disadvantages. I mentioned the syncing issues. I am pretty sure they did not solve the problem faster just because there were concentrating on new features. Yes, I know Apple does the same thing. We've seen some buggy software lately coming from Cupertino. Fortunately for companies like Google and Apple the end users are happier about the new stuff than they are pissed with the old stuff that is not working properly. Unless the new stuff bricks your phone like iOS 8.0.2 did...

Chrome versus Safari

And just before you shred me to pieces, I must say I swear by Chrome for Mac. I try to use Safari every time a new version comes out and I just cannot get myself to like it. Chrome works flawlessly on the Mac and it's been like that since 2010. Not even Firefox can match their performance.

However even tough the Mac version of Chrome is awesome, on the iPhone and iPad Safari is just as good. Besides that, most well done apps have their own built-in browsers and you can just tap a link a take a sneak peak inside the app itself. Safari makes for a better mobile browser for another good reason: iOS 8 brought extensions and the developers jumped on that to bring awesome new functionality.