Google officially adds support for Google Earth on Firefox, Edge, and Opera browsers, says it is working on adding support for Safari
When Google unveiled the new Google Earth back in 2017, it switched Google Earth from being a desktop application to a web application.
Context & Ripple Effects
When Google rebuilt Google Earth as a web application in 2017, the redesigned Earth with guided tours and 3D maps ran only in Chrome, with support for iOS and other browsers promised but slow to arrive. Subsequent features like the Voyager classroom tours and user-created virtual tour tools were built on that same Chrome-first web foundation.
Three years on, Google is closing the gap: Firefox, Edge, and Opera users now get the full web Earth experience natively, and Safari is explicitly next on the list.
First-order effects
- Firefox, Edge, and Opera users can now run Google Earth's 3D maps and guided tours directly in their own browsers instead of installing or switching to Chrome.
- Safari users remain locked out until Google finishes its stated work on Apple's engine, leaving macOS and iOS audiences on the older desktop client or third-party workarounds.
Second-order effects
- Chrome loses one of its few exclusive web-app showcases, weakening a reason schools and casual users kept it installed alongside their default browser.
- Broader browser reach expands the audience for Earth's education-oriented features like Voyager lesson plans, which depend on classroom devices that often don't run Chrome.
Third-order effects
- If Google follows through on Safari, the pattern confirms that flagship web applications can no longer afford single-browser availability — cross-engine compatibility becomes table stakes rather than a differentiator for any vendor's web platform.
The trend: Flagship web applications are migrating from browser-exclusive launches to universal cross-engine availability, with vendors treating broad browser support as a retrofit obligation rather than an afterthought.