A QR code is a type of barcode that contains information about the item it is attached to. It was first used in the automotive industry in Japan to keep track of car parts, but quickly became popular for other uses due to the amount of information it can hold. Nowadays, QR codes are used for tracking products, managing documents, linking to webpages, and much more. It can hold data such as the information about a particular product, URL links, and geo-coordinates.
To scan a QR code using your iPhone, you have to use a third-party app as iOS doesn’t have this feature. If you use Google Chrome, then you don’t need to install another third-party app because the browser was recently updated to support QR code scanning. It takes advantage of 3D Touch for scanning QR codes, but if your iPhone doesn’t have it, then there is an alternative method for non-3D Touch devices as well.
Here’s how you can use Google Chrome on iPhone to scan QR codes with or without 3D Touch.
How to Scan QR Codes using Google Chrome on iPhone
Step 1: Go to the App Store and update Google Chrome to the latest available version. QR code scanning was added in version 56.0.2924.79.
Step 2: Scanning a QR code can be done with or without 3D Touch. Here’s how it can be done with 3D Touch:
- Hard press on the Google Chrome app icon to activate 3D Touch.
- From the 3D Touch menu that appears, tap on “Scan QR Code”.
If your iPhone doesn’t support 3D Touch, here’s an alternative method:
- Open Spotlight.
- Type “QR Code” in the Search field.
- From the search results, tap on “Scan QR Code” located below the Chrome section.
Step 3: When your iPhone’s camera opens, point it at a QR code and it will be automatically scanned.
Step 4: Google Chrome will read the scanned QR code and display the corresponding output. The QR code could either be a URL linking to a webpage, a piece of text, or anything else.
It’s good to see that Google Chrome is taking advantage of 3D Touch to provide a quick method of scanning QR codes. Now that Google Chrome has this feature, there’s no need to use another third-party app unless it offers additional features.