Google Chrome for Android gets better at saving offline content for later viewing

By Christian de Looper Published May 8, 2017

google job widget update chrome android app os — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google wants to make it a little easier to access content, even when you don’t have an internet connection. The company is launching a few tweaks and changes to its Downloads feature in the latest version of Chrome for Android.

Downloads launched in Chrome for Android in December and it basically allowed users to save things like web pages, music, and even videos for viewing at a later date. At launch, to download a web page you would have had to open up the Chrome menu in the top-right of the browser, then hit the “Save” button. Then, hit the “Downloads” button to see all of your saved content. Now, however, you can simply long press a link, and you’ll see the option to “Download Link.”

On top of that, the Chrome offline page has been given a new button to “Download Page Later” and if you press that, Chrome will download the page when you get connected to the internet.

“Now you’ll always have a ready-to-go list of pages or articles to read even if you are out of data for the month or lose the network in a dead zone. Update to the latest version of Chrome and tap the download icon on any page to get started,” Google said in a blog post.

The New Tab page has also been tweaked a little — now it’ll include articles that you previously downloaded, and you’ll be able to tell that they’re downloaded thanks to a special offline badge.

The new feature does help put the browser on-par with other apps and services like Pocket, which allow users to save online content for offline viewing. Because the feature is built into Chrome, however, it could see much wider adoption and it could signal the beginning of the end for third-party services.

Topics

Christian de Looper

Contributor

Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…

Mobile

Google’s Gemini AI app gets a wider release. Is your phone on the list?

Google Gemini app on Android.

More people can now use and enjoy the Google Gemini AI app on their smartphone, as the company has expanded the list of regions where the Android version of the app is available through the Google Play Store. Specifically, it has launched the Android app in the U.K. and Europe, opening the service up far beyond its start in the U.S., where it was released in February.

What’s more, Google says Gemini will soon be available to iPhone owners, as the AI chatbot will appear on iOS in the next few weeks. It won’t be a standalone app though, as Gemini will instead work through the official Google app that can be downloaded now through the Apple App Store.

Mobile

Google is working on a much-needed Gemini feature

Google Pixel 8a showing Gemini Nano.

Last month, Google rolled out a YouTube Music extension for Gemini. Now, it appears that Spotify is the next music streaming service to see Gemini support in the near future.

What does the YouTube Music extension in Gemini do, exactly? Essentially, you can use it to find music, start radio stations, and more, all through the Google Gemini AI chatbot experience. With Spotify integration coming soon, it's expected to work in a similar fashion.

Mobile

Google is making it easier to ditch your iPhone for an Android phone

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and iPhone 15 Pro in hand.

Switching phones is never a smooth process, even if you’re switching between two different Android phones. However, when you’re trying to switch from an iPhone to Android or vice versa, it can be extra complicated -- and you can lose data and apps that you rely on. This is especially the case with Apple-to-Android transfers because the iPhone has a much stronger ecosystem lock-in with things like iMessage, iCloud backups, and exclusive apps like Overcast and Hyperlapse.

The good news is that with its Data Transfer Tool (also called Pixel Migrate on Pixel devices), Google may be trying to mitigate some of the phone-switching problems that arise -- specifically, losing access to your Live Photos. According to an APK teardown from Android Authority, Google’s Data Transfer Tool will finally resolve the problem of migrating iOS Live Photos to Android. It will do this by converting them over as Motion Photos.