Comment by cosmic_cheese
7 months ago
I’m not sure the default browser setting is nearly as relevant here as how Chrome is conveniently the default browser on the overwhelming majority of Android devices, and it’s rare for users to change that.
If Android shipped with Firefox or Vivaldi or something as its default browser, I’d bet anything that Google’s Android apps would do the exact same Chrome-pushing as their iOS apps.
Chrome wasn't even available until Android 4.0 (as a beta), and it wasn't included by default on most phones until later. On most Samsung devices, the default browser has been Samsung Internet for years. Starting March 2024, there is no default browser in the EEA. https://www.android.com/choicescreen/dma/browser/
Despite all of that, there are no such shenanigans on Android. The reason is almost certainly that Google had to implement such a workaround due to Apple's refusal to allow users to set default apps, and that workaround stuck.
Even so, Chrome is still by far the dominant browser on Android, sitting at about 70%[0] between iOS and Android and higher on Android alone. There’s little benefit to be had from Google harassing Android users about browsers, and in fact it could bring users to think worse of Android, so they don’t.
[0]: https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-market-share/mobile/world...