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Google Chrome's Reading mode could soon get a colorful splash of Material You
The read aloud button matches the color scheme and zoom buttons are easier to find
Google has been working on new updates for its Reading mode in Chrome, recently adding a Read aloud button, but it may not stop there. Reading mode may soon incorporate more of the Material You look that many of Google's apps and services have adopted, including Chrome itself, and things appear to be coming together quite nicely.
Twitter thinks you will pay it to undo your bad tweets (instead of just deleting them for free)
Twitter Blue is official, coming to Canada and Australia first
After nearly a year of rumors and hints — not to mention a pricing leak earlier this week — Twitter has finally announced a paid tier for anyone who just can't get enough of their feed. It's coming to Canada and Australia first, with a couple of long-requested power features locked behind a monthly subscription.
Competing with dominant browsers like Chrome and Firefox, Opera differentiates itself with a bunch of additional features, like a built-in ad blocker and unlimited VPN. With the last major build released in December, the browser got the ability to darken web pages in addition to the app UI. This week Opera's releasing its v56 update, delivering a proper reader mode to help declutter the sites you read, along with a couple other handy features.
Chrome has finally reached the 80s. The browser sadly doesn't have a neon theme or play The Power of Love at startup, but maybe Google is saving that for v85. Regardless, this version has plenty of changes to go into, so let's dive in.
Nobody likes to be bombarded with ads and general clutter when reading articles on the web, which is where reader mode comes in. For years we thought that Google, an advertising company, wouldn't ever sign off on such a feature for its Chrome browser on desktop. Thankfully, it looks like we underestimated Google since it's now testing a reader mode in Chrome Canary.
Samsung Internet Beta version 7.4 is now available to download with support for Intelligent Scan authentication, a new Reader Mode, and improvements to download history. Samsung has also made some regional changes for those in the U.S., China, and India.
Coming off its recent redesign, CNN has just updated its app for Android to support Chromecast streaming of video clips, and a new "reader mode" that condenses the size of headline listings for more information at a glance. If you are interested in increasing the efficiency behind your consumption of news, these changes are sure to make a difference.
Back in Chrome v39, we got a look at a reader mode not unlike many other mobile browsers such as Firefox. However, it didn't even leave Chrome Beta before getting hidden in the flags menu. Features that were not originally in flags but later moved there tend not to come back. Well, the latest Chrome Dev, v45, features a revamped version of reader mode. Now, on pages the browser decides could benefit from it, it gives a prompt that says "make page mobile-friendly." Tapping on that brings the user to a slightly redesigned reader view, though it isn't described as such anywhere.