Chrome for Android has received a new update wherein it will automatically download content, specifically articles over an unmetered Wi-Fi connection so that the users can read them later while they are offline. This new feature will avail content for consumption when the user is not connected to the internet. The latest version of Chrome is going to curate content based on the user’s interest and search history. Recently Google rolled out the latest version of Chrome for Android- version 67 -which comes with a new horizontal tab switcher. Some new upgrades include augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) APIs, including WebXR Device API and Generic Sensor API that bring Web-based AR and VR experiences to mobile phones.
Amanda Boss, Product Manager, Offline Chrome for Android said in a press statement "When you're connected to free, unmetered Wi-Fi, Chrome will automatically download relevant articles, based on what content is most popular in your location.”
Notably, the feature which has been rolled out in India with Chrome’s latest update has also been rolled out to 100 other countries side by side. Countries like Nigeria, Indonesia, and Brazil will now also be able to surf the Web even when offline over the latest version of Chrome Android app.
Whenever users are offline, Chrome will offer the downloaded content to the users to read. They will be able to access the offline content in their downloads section side by side the other downloaded media on the Chrome app. Apparently, this new feature is similar to the one which Google rolled out in December 2016, when it introduced the ability to download content for offline usage. Under this feature, users could download music, written content and videos for viewing offline. Later in May 2017, Google introduced a dedicated ‘Download Page later’ option which was solely dedicated to downloading full web pages.
Not only the search history and download history, but the new feature is also going to take into account the popularity and relevance of the content while downloading it for offline. Sadly, the Chrome for Android app doesn’t provide a toggle button for this new feature, the only way that the users can avail the feature is by updating to the latest Chrome version 67 via Google Play Store or through the APK mirror.
