14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, Google started rolling out the Chrome 56 update for Android smartphones, and while it does bring some useful features, the beta 57 update is certainly more exciting. Google has announced that it will be bringing Progressive Web Apps to Chrome beta in a few weeks.
In 2015, Google added a new feature for Chrome Android, one that would allow users to add websites on their home screen in a fast and convenient way. The tool uses an Android shortcut, but it doesn’t allow web apps to show up in the same way as installed applications. Web apps don’t show in the app drawer and some developers believed that these differences could be confusing to Android users.
In order to make user experience on Android more cohesive, Google will be rolling out a new version of this feature in Chrome beta 57 over the next few weeks. Users will be able to add a Progressive Web App to their home screen and Chrome will have the capability to integrate it into Android in a much deeper way.
New CSS Grid Layout in Chrome Beta
Google has said that Progressive Web Apps will appear in the app drawer and in Android settings and will be able to receive incoming intents from other apps. In addition, when users long press on Progressive Web Apps notifications, they will be able to access the regular Android notification management controls and not the controls for Chrome.
Google says that “this new Add to Home screen feature is one more step in our journey to empower developers to build the best possible experience for their users, and we are committed to ensuring the same mechanisms for installing Progressive Web Apps are available to all browsers on Android.”
Chrome Beta 57 also brings new CSS grid layout that supports a two-dimensional layout optimized for user interface design. Elements in the grid can be set to span over multiple columns and even rows.
You can get the latest Chrome Beta version 57 from our dedicated section here.