Chrome 93 Beta is All About Convenience, Progressive Web Apps, and Material You Previews (APK Download)



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Chrome 93 is rolling out to the beta channel as we speak, and it has some exciting stuff in it. We’re looking for better cross-platform compatibility when it comes to OTP codes, prettier (or at least more useful) windows for web applications, and much more. Here’s what we know about the beta right now.

Multi-device support for OTP codes

Google is giving developers all the tools they need to make two-factor authentication via one-time codes (OTP) much less complicated. When you’re signed in to the same Google Account on your phone and your Chrome 93 desktop install, you’ll be able to seamlessly paste your phone’s OTP SMS codes to your desktop for supported sites. Of course, SMS is not the safest method when it comes to OTP, but it’s still better than nothing, and making it less complicated to use is worth a lot.

You can test this for yourself at web-otp-demo.glitch.me by texting yourself with the exact words shown on the site (yes, I was also surprised to learn that it is possible to s ‘send text messages). Just make sure all the prerequisites are in place. Now you will just have to wait for your bank or credit union to take over this in 2031.

PWA as URL handlers

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are about to look even more like native apps on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Chrome 93 is running a test that allows developers to declare web apps as URL handlers. For example, if you use Twitter as a PWA created in Chrome, all twitter.com links could automatically open in the dedicated PWA interface, further bridging the gap between native apps and web apps. This could be especially handy for Gmail, I think. On Android, this feature has been available for some time as part of the WebAPK installation method.

To experience this you will need to activate the chrome: // flags / # enable-desktop-pwas-url-handling flag, although there are probably few or no apps that support it at the moment.

Prettier inbound PWAs

Do you know how some desktop apps like the Microsoft Office suite and many Apple apps take advantage of the extra space available in their system title bars? Chrome PWAs may soon benefit as well, thanks to a new window control overlay API. It allows developers to use the space in the title bar and fill it with a search bar, podcast playback controls, and whatever else they can think of.

Yes, this is the example of Google. I’m serious.

This feature is expected to become stable in Chrome 94, and if adopted widely, it could make PWAs much more native.

Better multiscreen support for web applications

Slideshows, presentations, and other multi-screen or multi-window experiences are set to improve with an experience launched in Chrome 93. A new multi-screen window placement API will allow developers to place windows at windows. Precise locations on multiple screens, allowing you to view your speaker notes on your laptop screen while showing your presentation on the projector (for example). Google also offers multi-window graphics editors like GIMP or virtual trading desks as examples of multi-window experiences that could benefit from this. It will likely be some time before web applications take advantage of this ability, but it’s something to look forward to.

Screenshots of Material You

When you activate the right flags, you will get the first Material You items in Chrome 93 on Android 12. In the settings, you will see a subtle shade of your main wallpaper color as the background for the top bar and tabs in the Tab previews are more rounded and use the colors of your wallpaper. A few other places are also based on the extracted colors, like highlights and text toggles.

We have more details in our article dedicated to this subject.

More changes

Here are a few more changes that we’ve covered in depth before and most of which are still hidden behind flags:

  • New research interface in test: Google is testing a horizontal strip with search results below the address bar. Find out more about this in our dedicated article.
  • Separating bookmarks and playlist: Google added a flag that allows you to separate creating bookmarks from adding sites to your reading list.
  • Sidebar for bookmarks and playlist: Speaking of which, Chrome 93 for desktops has another indicator that lets you activate a handy sidebar with your bookmarks and reading list. Here’s all you need to know.
  • Send tab to personal improvements: Chrome 93 is changing how tab sharing works on your Chrome installations, foregoing system notifications on many platforms. Read all about it here.
  • New widgets for Android: Chrome 93 for Android has new widgets hidden behind a flag that appear to be inspired by their iOS counterparts. Read more about it here.
  • Sharing prettier snippets on Android: Chrome 93 improves on a previously available indicator for sharing Instagram-like snippets as images.
  • WebXR aircraft detection API: Augmented and virtual reality applications are now able to retrieve data about the planes in your environment, allowing developers to create more immersive and realistic experiences.

Chrome 93 is the last version to be released on Google’s six-week cycle. Starting with Chrome 94, new versions will be coming to us every four weeks, so expect the version number to change even faster in the future.

You can download the new beta version of Chrome from the Play Store or from APK Mirror.

Chrome beta
Chrome beta



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