The Google+ app for iOS opens web URLs in Chrome if installed, how soon until all Google apps do that?
Earlier today, Google released an update to its Google+ app for iOS, expanding support for Hangouts. But tucked in there is a one-line update not which could have some interesting implications …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had already shown developers how to route iOS app links into Chrome, making the Google+ change an early in-product use of that integration. Google+ had also been adding mobile Hangouts features, aligning its iOS app more closely with its mobile strategy.
First-order effects
- Google+ for iOS sends web links to Chrome for users who have Chrome installed, giving Chrome the outbound browsing session from those taps.
- Google turns its developer-facing Chrome-linking guidance into a consumer-facing behavior inside one of its own iOS apps.
Second-order effects
- Google’s other iOS app teams have a tested path to direct link traffic into Chrome, while third-party developers can use the same mechanism to offer a browser-specific handoff.
- Chrome’s iOS value proposition shifts beyond standalone browsing: its installed base determines whether Google+ can route users into Google’s browser.
Third-order effects
- If more apps adopt browser-targeted links, iOS web navigation becomes less tied to a single default destination and more dependent on app-level routing choices.
- The move points to competition for control of the link handoff, where browser distribution and developer integration reinforce one another.
The trend: Mobile browsers are becoming app-integrated destinations, with link-routing APIs giving developers greater influence over where web sessions begin.