As UberGizmo reports, Chrome debuted on Android in 2012 but only supported versions of 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and above. At the time, this meant that not many people could actually take advantage of its existence.
Chrome was only included with Android from the launch of 4.1 on the Nexus 7. This makes the 1 billion downloads mark even more remarkable as it would appear as though most of those downloads involved users actually voluntarily doing so, as opposed to activating a preinstalled app.
Chrome for Android has added several new features since its launch. It remains one of the best mobile web browsers and has a very similar interface to that of desktop Chrome. On tablets, there is also proper multi-tab support in a strip across the top of the display.
Its popularity has grown recently as more new Android devices are bought that can support it. The app can still be quite intensive on lower-end hardware and many manufacturers bundle their own web browsers anyway.
This all means that Chrome has proven to be an exceptionally popular Android app in its own right. Despite restrictions on who can install it and how it has only been around for three years, it has managed to join the select group of 12 apps that can claim the “1 Billion” badge on their Google Play Store page.
Last month, Facebook Messenger also reached 1 billion downloads. That app has been around for much longer and on more devices though whereas Chrome had an uphill struggle to get users from its launch, making the achievement even more remarkable.
