Japan has shown a good liking to Quick Response Codes (or simply QR Codes) that can contain a good amount of data. Other Asian countries like China, have been able to scan QR codes with the popular messaging app, WeChat. For now, QR codes in the United States and other Western countries have yet to become ubiquitous. It's probably why the iPhone has never really bothered with securing a code scanner for its users. That changes now.

So far, Snapchat has taken over the reins on the topic of QR Codes. It was recently revealed that Snapchat was enabling websites to make their own unique QR "Snapcodes". The site launches inside Snapchat when users scan the code with the application's camera. Snapchat acquired the startup Scan.me, which allowed them to push QR codes for profiles last year.

Google Chrome seems like it's going to bet QR codes will gain massive use as it has a new update for its iOS users. It now has the ability to make it much easier to scan QR and traditional barcodes. Users will no longer resort to installing third-party applications in order to just scan the codes.

To access the feature, users need only to open the Spotlight search box type then type "QR". After that, users can tap the Scan QR code from the list. Users also have the option to 3D Touch the icon for the Google Chrome app. When it comes to traditional barcodes, scanning them will launch Google Search with the scanned product, which includes its price, reviews and more.

The Google Chrome iOS update is now available. The update also has a redesigned tab switcher for Chrome on the iPad in an attempt to make sites much smoother to open. 3D Touch shortcuts are also part of the update.