Google has been testing data compression on Chrome Beta for Android, but today is your lucky day if you don’t like using beta products. Starting today, Chrome (stable) for Android and iOS will feature data compression, along with other features.
Data compression for Android and iOS
Data compression will ensure that you make the most our of your mobile data. When browsing, you can activate this feature and allow Google’s servers to compress and optimize websites before they are sent to your device. This ensures that you are not downloading extra content you won’t really take advantage of.
One of the main complaints is that it will take a little longer to download pages, but that is a bit of a trade-off if you keep going over your data cap. Also, it should be faster to download a website once it’s processed by Google, as it will be compressed and smaller.
Android and iOS users can activate this feature by going to Settings > Bandwidth Management > Reduce Data Usage. Then turn the toggle to “on” and you are set! You can also use this page to track your data savings and see how well this feature performs. You should save about 50% of data usage, which is no small number!
Android: application shortcuts
It’s annoying how hard it is to just create a shortcut to your favorite site. The new Chrome update allows Android users to easily create shortcuts to their favorite websites. Simply go to the website you want a shortcut for and press the menu button. After selecting “Add to homescreen”, your shortcut icon will appear in the homescreen.
It’s that simple!
iOS: Translate
The lack of Google Translate on Chrome for iOS has been one of the biggest flaws of the mobile browser. It has been available for desktop and Android for a long time, and today Google is proud to let the Apple boys into the international party.
iOS users will now start getting Google Translate notifications for sites with a foreign language. From there you can choose whether you want to translate it or not.
When do I get this update?
The official update should start going out “during the next few days”. Stay tuned to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store!
[Google]
