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Farewell Windows Safari, as Apple excludes its homegrown browser from iCloud bookmark sync

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We knew that Apple’s attempt to expand Safari’s reach into the Windows population was at an end when the company stopped updating the Windows version a year ago, but the browser has now been erased from history as Apple’s bookmark sync tool drops support for it. iCloud Control Panel 3.0 for Windows, released yesterday, supports only Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.

iCloud keeps mail, contacts, and calendars up to date between your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, and Windows PC, and lets you share calendars and task lists.

iCloud also keeps your Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Google Chrome bookmarks on Windows in sync with your Safari bookmarks on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac.

On OS X, however, Apple is keep to ensure we don’t use anything else. The iCloud Bookmarks extension for Chrome, allowing bookmark syncing with Safari, works only on the Windows version of Chrome. C’mon, Apple, make us want to use your software by making it better than anyone else’s, not by this kind of move …

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Comments

  1. danbridgland - 11 years ago

    Great closing remark!

  2. Brian (@BrainGameMayhem) - 11 years ago

    This is disappointing. While I have a Mac at home, I’m forced to work on a Windows machine at work.

    • Jim Huls (@Techslacker) - 11 years ago

      What’s disappointing? You can use any of the 3 actively supported browsers on Windows. Safari on Windows wasn’t anywhere near in development where OSX Safari is.

      It is a shame to not be able to use Chrome on OSX if someone had a need but I understand why it’s not done. Firefox could be kicked to the curb for all I care.

  3. Slobodan Milosevic - 10 years ago

    After a number of years using Crome on Windows I finally lost patience with Chrome lack of support and persistent bugs and switched to Safari. It works much better than Chrome right now. However, there are 2 issues I’m not sure if they’re bugs or features of that browser:

    1) launching a new link/website always opens a new windows and I can’t get it to open just a new tab

    2) can’t get favicons to be displayed in bookmarks bar

    Are these bugs or product limitations?

    Thanks.

  4. Keen, not keep in the last paragraph.

  5. Gerry Seymour - 10 years ago

    Well, if the Chrome extension (as stated) is for “allowing bookmark syncing with Safari”, and Safari is not available in Windows, then what would be the use for a Mac extension for Chrome? If you use Chrome on your Mac, and can’t use Safari on Windows, what Safari would you be synching Chrome to?

  6. gopheryarrowzoo - 9 years ago

    Now that it’s had some time to mature on OS X, you’d think they’d bring a new version out nope, it’s now being marked as “End of Life” by a software update tool I use in Win 7, guess that means I can no longer do much cross-browser checking with it… stuck with IE / Firefox for cross-checking… that should do right… I’ve read about at the latest Safari incarnation on OS X …. not liking it… think i’ll wait to upgrade people i know…

  7. Patrick McMullen - 8 years ago

    I don’t like the fact that it just sort of disappeared from my PC without so much as a “by your leave!” I want it back!!!!!

Author

Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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