Sometimes a revamp is nothing more than bells and whistles, and other times it completely changes your experience. Google is gunning for the second, announcing new updates for Chrome on mobile and desktop that focus on integration and efficiency. New mobile features concentrate on improving your search process, while Chrome for desktop is streamlining how you download and access files from the web.
On Chrome mobile, a new webpage should now show a category called “Trending searches,” and as you type, ten versus the previous six recommendations will appear. Similarly, say you’re on a site about the best pizza places in New York — if you click on the URL up top, related searches will appear below in a new category called “Related to this page.” You can also tap on a word in that article, like a neighborhood in New York it discusses, and use Touch to Search to see other topics you want to explore, such as hotels in that area. Touch to Search is exclusive to Android and has already existed in browsers as a way to find specific words.
As for your Chrome for desktop, say goodbye to the clunky download bar that pops up at the bottom of your screen (and having to close it yourself). Moving forward, downloads will appear on the top right of your browser, just next to your account image. When you go to save something, a circle will appear around the icon, turning blue as it finishes the download. You can click the button to view anything saved in the last 24 hours, open the folder containing a specific file and retry, pause, resume or cancel your download. While this will be the default placement for everyone moving forward, it might have been live for some people already. Google will still warn you if a download seems suspicious and let you drag and drop downloads as needed.
