Using Alternative Browsers on the iPad and iPhone

If you own an iPad or iPhone you might have perhaps observed that Safari is the default browser. Safari is a powerful browser, but what if you prefer Chrome, Opera, or Dolphin? You might not be aware of it, but you can download any browser you would like onto your device. However, you cannot set anything other than Safari as the default browser on your device without manually tinkering with it, which is something only expert techies should try.

The default option

Having Safari as your default browser means that if you click a link in a program your iPad will instantly use Safari to navigate you to the website. If you want to use a different browser, you’ll have to copy and paste the link into another browser you have. This could be a pain, but if you absolutely love Chrome, you will have to take this step.

Alternative browsers

In a recent column in USA Today, Rob Pegoraro explains that with the release of Chrome, Google highlighted the ability to download alternative browsers on Apple devices. If you’d like to do this it is easy. After navigating to your browser of choices’ home page, just follow the download instructions for iOS.

A mix and match approach

Many people use different browsers on their laptops and devices for various things. Perhaps Chrome for personal tabs, and Safari for business related tabs. Regardless, even though you cannot change the default browser on your iPad or iPhone, that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from downloading your favorite browser.

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