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Google Chrome for Android gets a feature-rich 'Listen to this page' tool
It's already usable in Chrome 121
The very popular accessibility-driven text-to-speech feature that graces every corner of technology is going to be integrated into Google Chrome for Android in short order. You can already ask Google to read aloud almost any story on your Android phone through Assistant, but it’s proven to be less useful over time. In fact, the Reading Mode app by Google, which is designed for individuals with low vision, blindness, and dyslexia, has become a better alternative for being read to. Google is integrating a version of the tool directly into Chrome soon, and it has the potential to make listening to words on the web fairly simple.
Chrome for Android wants to annoy you less with permission prompts
When a site asks for your location, you'll be able to 'Allow this time' only
As Android users, we have plenty of options for web browsers. The browser ecosystem is alive and well, with options like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge leading the way. Even some of the less popular options, like Brave, Kiwi, and Vivaldi, offer legitimate alternatives. The competition for users breeds innovation, and Chrome is no stranger to testing and listening to user feedback. Just last week, Chrome began testing new memory-saving improvements and new AI-powered features for personalized themes. In its latest update, Chrome developers have introduced a new feature to Chrome Canary for Android that promises to give users more permission options.
Google Chrome is ending support for Android Nougat
Android 7.0 is slated to get the Chrome axe next month
Google Chrome has reigned as the most-used web browser on desktops and mobile devices for the last decade. While it's always had fair criticism thrown its way — namely about the resource hog it tends to be — it’s still sat as the cream of the crop, and it recently got a splash of Material You back in September with version 117. For people that haven’t upgraded their Android phone in over half a decade and still use Android 7.0, however, they’re about to lose Chrome support entirely.
You can now test Chrome for Android's permanent Desktop View switch
It's working in the latest Canary release
Read update
Most websites (like this one) adjust their formatting automatically to account for screens of different size and density. But on tablets (and foldables), formatting often has the tendency to go weird and switch you to mobile view, and you just gotta pretend you're on your proper desktop computer to get the full website experience. If you haven't switched to a different browser to achieve this globally yet, Chrome is about to make your life easier. The latest under-development version of the browser has added an option to enable "Request Desktop Site" permanently, finally giving you the power to always use your tablet or foldable with full website experiences.
Chrome for Android is testing a radical shift in its Google Search interface
All we asked for was proper bottom bar navigation
Google may have shelved one of the most anticipated Chrome features — Duet — but the company is still working on changing up little bits and pieces to make it easier to navigate the mobile browser. One of the latest experiments has been spotted by 9to5Google, which reports that a new flag moves Google Search into a carousel below the address bar, giving you quick access to other results.
Chrome for Android starts showing most-visited site tiles in the Omnibox
Curb your enthusiasm: it looks like another server-side switch
If you're anything like most web users, you have a core dozen or so sites that you visit regularly (including Android Police, right? Right?), while the rest you only peruse when it's pertinent. Chrome for Android is starting to recognize this, and give you more visible suggestions for your most-visited sites via new icons in the Omnibox.
Wow, y'all really hate tab groups in Chrome for Android
A new Chromium bug report hopes to bring back an option to turn them off
Any time a developer releases a new feature, the hope is that users will find it helpful. That isn't always the case. For example: the new tab groups feature in Chrome for Android, which is now the default behavior after being introduced in January. While the grouped tabs initially came with a chrome://flags option to turn it off, that option has been removed, and tab groups are now permanently enabled in all current versions of the browser.
Google Chrome for Android is on the warpath with dropdowns
An experiment moves more autofill suggestions to the strip on top of your keyboard
Drop down menus have been a part of graphical computer interfaces since the beginning, but they aren't particularly easy to interact with on touchscreens. Google is working on getting rid of them with a few measures on Android, such as moving the password autofill dropdown to a bar on top of Gboard. But it looks like the company also wants to further reduce the number of dropdowns you come across when you surf the web in Chrome.
Chrome might automatically use desktop mode on Android tablets soon
Android-powered slates with large enough displays won't have to manually tap the 'Desktop Site' button
There aren't many big, high-powered Android tablets coming out these days. But if you're one of the happy few who have one, you could soon see the Chrome browser default to the "Desktop site" version of web browsing. That's the little button in the menu that allows you to force the page to render as if it were on a laptop or desktop PC.
Surf the web more securely on Chrome for Android by activating Enhanced Safe Browsing
The feature is currently rolling out to everyone, but you can speed up the process
Google is already pouring tons of resources into helping us stay safe while we surf the web with measures like Safe Browsing for Chrome, and the company only recently introduced an enhanced version of this tool. It's widely available on desktops already, but it's only slowly rolling out on Android. If you want to get your hands on Enhanced Safe Browsing right away, there are two flags that will bring it to you.
Chrome 86 will automatically check if your passwords have leaked and help you change them
A release focused on security
These days, we have a plethora of tools at our disposal that help us keep our online accounts safe, but no system is 100% fool-proof. And sometimes, login credentials do get hacked or are leaked. That's why many password managers have built-in breach checkers, and following the desktop version, Google Chrome for Android and iOS has also finally gained that ability. Starting with Chrome 86, the browser will notify you when passwords saved to your Google Account are compromised and help you change them as fast as possible.
Closing your perfectly innocent incognito tabs will no longer cause Chrome to freeze
The problem persisted for about two months
For the last two months, spanning from Chrome version 84 to 85, some people have been experiencing spontaneous interface freezes, mostly when trying to close their last incognito tab. Google acknowledge the issue quickly and promised a timely fix, and it seems like it's finally rolling out with the latest minor Chrome update. People on version 85.0.4183.127 report that the freezes have stopped for them, and the corresponding entry in the Chromium bug tracker has been marked as fixed.
Google Chrome's overflow menu on Android has been rather hard to navigate for ages — it mostly consists of text-only entries, so whenever you try to find something in it without relying on muscle memory, you're forced to read through every single label. Google seems to recognize this problem, as it's experimenting with a redesigned menu in Chrome Beta that groups the entries and adds icons to each of them.
Chrome 85 Beta for Android to display 'fast page' labels for high-quality web pages
The faster the better
For a long time now, Google has been trying to make the web faster and more consistent for mobile devices. Earlier this year, it introduced Core Web Vitals as a new benchmark for making fast websites. Core Web Vitals has been playing a role in search rankings since May, and soon Chrome will use those statistics to directly label high-quality web pages, starting with how fast they are.
If you have a Windows PC, you're probably familiar with Microsoft's aggressive marketing tactics when it comes to its browser. The company automatically adds Edge to your taskbar after some updates, and it even sends you popups when you still won't use its Internet Explorer successor. It looks like Google is considering to introduce a similarly aggravating "feature" to Chrome for Android, as 9to5Google found out. It's working on push notifications that encourage you to use its browser when you haven't opened it in a while.
Chrome 84 is exhibiting stability issues for some people on Android. Whenever they close their last incognito tab, the browser freezes and eventually displays the dreaded "Chrome isn't responding" dialog. The bug seems to bog down the whole interface, as neither home nor back buttons/gestures work while you wait for the popup to appear. Other people even report that Chrome just freezes out of the blue for them, with no incognito tabs involved.
Chrome on Android adding biometric confirmation for credit cards and an improved sign-in experience
You'll never have to look at your CVC code again
Autofill is one of the handiest features a browser can have. Whether it's not having to remember your card details for online shopping or just saving time filling out address fields, it's super helpful. Now Google is announcing that the Chrome's Autofill on Android is getting even more quick and secure when it comes to payments and passwords.
Google is bringing scheduled downloads to Chrome for Android
The feature just landed in Chrome Canary
Chrome for Android is always making tweaks and improvements, like going 64-bit last month. Downloading files these days is a lot quicker than it used to be in the days of 2G, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for growth. The development team has been working on a feature that allows users more flexibility when it comes to the download process, including waiting for a Wi-Fi connection. Now that feature is live in Chrome Canary, so long as you enable a flag or two.
Chrome 86 removes the last remaining website forced dark mode flag
The feature won't see the light of day after all
Google has been working on a forced dark mode for Chrome on Android, giving each and every website a black-and-gray makeover, regardless of whether it has a native dark theme or not. Over the last year, the company has poured tons of resources into making this a great experience, but it looks like the developers aren't happy with how the feature is coming together. All options to enable forced dark theme have been removed from the latest Canary build of Chrome for Android, version 86.
Google is working on a bottom tab switcher strip for Chrome on Android
Resurrecting the idea of Chrome Duet
After years and years of experiments, Google recently killed Chrome Duet, its take on a bottom bar for its mobile browser. But the company doesn't seem to be entirely opposed to adding elements to more reachable spots, as a new test has emerged in Chrome for Android. A flag lets you add a tab strip to the bottom of the interface, similar to the experience when you use tab groups.