Google updates Chrome with improved tab management, URL sharing, QR codes and more

Google is bringing some improvements to tab performance in Google Chrome. Director of UX, Chrome Alex Ainslie took to Google’s blog to share about the development. According to Ainslie, the faster loading tabs help because when a user is checking off tasks for the day, a few seconds of delay while tabs load can slow them down. [caption id=“attachment_5509891” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] One of the improvements stated by the blog includes Tab groups that help users visually distinguish tabs by topic or task.[/caption] According to the blog post, Chrome wants users to be more productive and hence is sharing a number of improvements that enable them to organise and find tabs easily. One of the improvements stated by the blog includes Tab groups that help users visually distinguish tabs by topic or task, “like work or shopping – or even priority.” “Now you can collapse and expand your tab groups, so it’s easier to see the ones you need to access,” Google said. It further stated that if one uses Chrome in their laptop’s tablet mode, they will have an easier time flipping through the tabs, finding pages one is looking for and browsing the web. “Coming to Chromebooks first, a new touchscreen interface has tabs that are larger and more practical to organise, and hide when you don’t need them,” it added. Android users can now start typing a page title into the address bar and they will see a suggestion to switch to that tab if they already have it open. Users can do it both in Chrome and on laptop. Another update is finding tabs faster with tab previews on Chrome Beta. The blog mentions that in the Chrome release, they will also improve Chrome’s PDF functionality. According to the post, over the next few weeks, users will be able to fill out PDF forms and save them with their inputs, directly from Chrome. When they open the file again, they can pick up where they left. Google has also improved URL sharing to help quickly copy a link and send it to Chrome on other devices and send links through other apps as well. Users can also print the page or generate a QR code to scan or download.