Facing new competition from startups such as Arc, Google on Wednesday announced five new features to improve the search experience in its Chrome browser on mobile devices. These new features include new shortcuts for local search results, an updated address bar for easier navigation, trending search suggestions, live sports cards for fans, and more personalized search suggestions tailored to users' browsing habits. The features will be rolling out soon on both Android and iOS devices.
One of the new features is Chrome Actions, which allows users to more easily perform certain tasks without having to go into the settings screen. The feature is also coming to local search results, allowing users to search for local businesses and quickly access shortcut buttons like “Call,” “Directions,” and “Reviews.”
It's currently available on Chrome on Android devices, and Google plans to release an iOS version later this fall.
Image credit: Google
Google has also enhanced the Chrome address bar on iPads and Android tablets. The new design allows users to see the currently open webpage when they open the Chrome address bar, taking full advantage of the larger tablet screen size for a better browsing experience.
Additionally, the Chrome browser on iOS and Android devices will begin to suggest new shortcuts based on past searches: the company said that if a user frequently types “schedule” in Chrome and clicks on the City Metro website, the website will now appear at the top of search suggestions every time they search for “schedule.”
Image credit: Google
Another useful feature is trending searches, which were previously only available on Android devices. Google has finally brought trending search suggestions to the Chrome address bar on iOS, allowing users to see what popular searches are happening across Google searches.
Google has also introduced live sports cards to the Discover Feed on Chrome for mobile, letting users know when their favorite sports teams are playing and automatically updating them with the latest scores and highlights from recent games. Users can customize the feature by selecting the three-dot menu in the Chrome mobile app.