Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Google Chrome for Android is testing a new search-friendly omnibox

Google Chrome’s Omnibar feature is something that has attracted a lot of people to the browser. Not only can it suggest recently visited websites, bookmarked websites, and common web searches as you type, but it can also answer certain things before the user even presses enter. A new update that is now available via the developer and canary channels of Chrome for Android adds a new feature that makes it easier to copy, share, or edit a URL, and more intuitive to start a new search. You simply need to have Chrome Duet enabled.

In order to make Chrome for Android more accessible on these larger screen devices, the team has been working on a new feature that is known as Chrome Duet (which was previously called Chrome Duplex). With it enabled, we have a bottom bar that gives you access to commonly used features, one of which is a search button. When the user taps this search button the URL of the website you are currently viewing is highlighted. This meant that if you wanted to copy or share that URL then you would need to long press on the text and use the pop-up menu.

However, a new change has recently been added to Chrome Dev and Canary: the chrome://flags/#enable-search-ready-omnibox flag. With this new feature enabled we get a different UI when we tap on that search button in the bottom bar of Chrome for Android. Instead of the URL of your currently viewed website being highlighted, it’s pushed down below the address bar. This is a nice little addition that helps convey to the user that they can instantly start a new Google search right here.

Chrome Duet Search Bar

The URL of the website doesn’t go away or anything. Instead, it gets pushed down to where you would usually see your recently visited websites (but with a line under it to separate the two). To the right of that current URL there are a few new buttons available to the user. One lets you copy the URL, another lets you take it directly into the share menu, while the third one lets you edit it.

Chrome Dev (Free, Google Play) →

Chrome Canary (Unstable) (Free, Google Play) →


Via: Android Police

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