Brave CEO Brendan Eich just revealed on X that he was “pleasantly surprised to see a Brave on Blink on iOS demo recently.”

If you use an iPhone, every single browser you download from the App Store is secretly just Safari wearing a different coat of paint because Apple forces them all to use its own WebKit engine.

brave-browser-blink-engine-ios-demo-post-ceo

Blink is the Chromium engine that powers Brave, Chrome, and Vivaldi on desktop and Android, which is what lets them run extensions and block ads much better than they can on an iPhone.

Having that same engine working on iOS is a big deal on paper, even though Eich did not share a single screenshot or video of how this test build actually looks or runs, meaning we just have to take his word for it right now.

Eich was also quick to keep expectations in check, saying he can’t share more and is making “no promises given all the risks, both tech per se and from the gatekeeper.” Even though he called himself a loyal Apple user, he noted that he is “not a doormat or ‘consum00r’ who takes defaults lying down” while quoting a thread from Open Web Advocacy that called out Apple’s browser rules.

open-web-post-apple-wekbit-june-2026

This comes right after Eich admitted that Brave still struggles with basic Apple integration like password autofill and spellcheck because of how Safari gets special treatment.

Until a custom engine is ever allowed globally, the team is stuck fixing what they can control, which at least gave us proper background file downloads on iOS last week and a partial Liquid Glass UI refresh back in August.

Meanwhile, desktop users just picked up automatic EXIF metadata removal in version 1.98.60 without having to wait around for anyone’s permission.

 
✦
PiunikaWeb’s Take

Knowing that Brave is actively testing Blink on iOS is cool, plus Google has maintained an experimental Blink build for iOS for a while now, so getting the code to run on a test device isn’t the real roadblock here. The actual problem is Apple’s rules, which is the exact reason Vivaldi explained why it still cannot ditch WebKit after three years on the platform.

Apple only allows alternative browser engines in the EU and Japan, and even then, developers have to build and maintain two completely separate apps while giving Apple the power to reject their work at its sole discretion. Unless regulators force Apple to open up iOS globally with fair terms, this Blink version of Brave is almost certainly going to stay locked inside a testing lab.

We stand out from the tech-media crowd because we break news stories; we mainly bring you stuff that you won’t find anywhere in the mainstream tech media. Our stories have been picked up by some of the world’s most popular websites and media outlets—more info is available here.
user-profile user-profile

Dwayne Cubbins
3162 Posts

I cover fast-moving stories across apps, online platforms, and everyday tech — phones, wearables, consoles, and whatever else people are fighting with this week. Bugs, rollouts, scams, policy enforcement, and the occasional internet-culture rabbit hole are all fair game. My goal is simple — make confusing tech news readable. When I'm not working, I'm working out or chilling with my dog. Got a tip? You can find me on X @dcubbins.