14 DAY TRIAL // iPhone users no longer need to download a third-party application just to scan a QR code, they can use Google Chrome. The latest update to Google Chrome for iOS brings a much-needed and quite mandatory feature on any phone, QR scanner.
Google Chrome app version 56.0.2924.79, available in the App Store, contains a built-in QR code scanner which can be accessed from the 3D Touch menu in Chrome. Users can also type in QR in Spotlight and tap on the icon that appears below.
The Chrome app isn’t the only application in which Google incorporated a QR code scanner. Last year, the tech giant introduced a QR code scanner to Now on Tap, an extension of Google Now on smartphones running Android mobile OS.
The Chrome app update brings a redesigned tab switcher layout
The QR code scanner offered users a new and quick way to learn about new products. But QR codes are used in a plenitude of other ways, including for enhancing security and further encrypting messages, like in WhatsApp. In some countries, QR codes offer a way to pay for food or get discounts at certain stores. In retail, QR codes are mostly used for providing additional information about a product.
There are many third-party QR code scanning apps in the App Store, but some are paid, contain ads or don’t function as smoothly as users would expect. Google’s new feature will definitely appeal to many iPhone users, especially since they don’t need to install an additional app that would take up space on their phone, just to scan a QR code.
Google’s Chrome isn’t the only browser app that incorporates a QR code scanner for iPhone users, Opera Mini also has a feature that scans QR codes and delivers media experiences. The feature was introduced a few years ago in 2014.
Google’s Chrome app update also brings a redesigned tab switcher layout on iPad, to make it easier to access opened sites.