Chrome Beta for Android and iOS has been updated with a generous list of improvements. For those who don’t know, Chrome Beta is a separate Chrome app meant to be used by early adopters. It gets updates and new features before the stable release, but this comes with the price of having to experience more issues and bugs from time to time. With that said, let’s jump into today’s new features!
First, the new release brings full-screen browsing to Chrome for mobile. Both iOS and Android devices will now hide the Chrome toolbar and Omnibar when one scrolls down. Simply scroll back up and the toolbar will re-appear. This is especially helpful for smaller devices (even if it is awesome with larger ones, too). Every pixel counts with smaller screens, so we are glad to be able to see more content.
iOS Improvements
Chrome for iOS is now able to print documents wirelessly. One can now print to Google Cloud Print or AirPrint enabled devices. If you don’t want to print, you can also save the page to Google Cloud Print. Not that anyone prints stuff nowadays, but this is a cool feature you might use from time to time.
Android Improvements
Chrome for Android now displays your search term in the Omnibar (URL box). This replaces the old system, which only allowed you to see the search URL and the search terms in the Google Search box (within the page). Now there is no Google Search box in your Google searches, only the Omnibar. This will free up space, even if it will be confusing my grandparents, who will be searching for that search box all day long.
It is also possible to see how much data one has saved with the data compression feature. You can go to Settings > Bandwidth Management > ReduceData Usage to check out what that’s all about.
Wrap Up
And of course, there are those bug fixes and performance improvements as well. I am really liking these updates, if you are not scared of some experimental browsing, you can go ahead and download/update Chrome Beta from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. Go get them!
Also, how do you guys feel about the Omnibar replacing the Google Search Bar? It looks nice, but do you think most people will be confused about it or think there is something wrong with the browser?
[Source: Google]
