As competition in the browser market heats up, thanks to innovations from startups like Arc and others, Google is preparing to make a notable change to the way its Chrome browser works. The company announced Wednesday that it’s introducing a new feature called “Minimized Custom Tabs” that will let users switch between a native app and their web content with a tap. When you do this, the custom tab becomes a small picture-in-picture window that hovers over the app’s native content.
The new plugin focuses on the use of custom tabs, a feature in Android browsers that gives app developers a way to add a custom browser experience directly to their app. Instead of opening the user’s browser or a WebView — which doesn’t support all of the web platform’s features — custom tabs allow users to stay in their app while browsing. For developers, using custom tabs can increase app engagement and reduce the risk of users abandoning the app and not coming back.
By turning the custom tab into a picture-in-picture window, the transition to the web experience can be more natural — and more like you’re still inside the native app. The change could also be useful for developers who direct their customers to a website to sign up for accounts or subscriptions, as it makes it easier for the user to move between the website and the native app.
While minimized in the picture-in-picture window, the custom tab can be placed on the side of the screen. When the page is maximized, the user can tap a down arrow to shrink it back to the picture-in-picture window.
The new web experience comes at a time when Google is making web access a more comfortable experience on Android. With features like Circle to Search and other AI-powered integrations, people can find their way around the web through gestures like circling or highlighting items.
The change is rolling out in the latest version of Chrome (M124) and will be automatically applied wherever developers are already using Chrome’s custom tabs. Google notes that while the change affects Chrome browsers, it hopes other browser makers will adopt similar functionality.
