Google Chrome 89 offers integration between Android phones and Chrome OS, better support for gamepads in the browser, NFC for web applications and native web sharing. It will be released somewhere today, on March 2, 2021.
Chrome OS Phone Hub for Android Devices
Google has been working on a “Phone Hub” for Chrome OS for a while now. The functionality is similar to Microsoft’s “Your Phone” application in Windows 10. You can connect your Android device and sync notifications, see recent tabs and more.
Currently, the Phone Hub can be manually turned on by a Chrome flag. Some people have already seen it on Chrome 88, but it should work even better on Chrome 89. You can see it without turning on anything after installing Chrome OS 89.
RELATED: How to activate the Android Phone Hub of Chrome OS now
WebHID is enabled by default
‘WebHID’ is an API aimed at making less standardized keyboards and game blocks work better with web browsers. It provides a way to implement device-specific logic in JavaScript.
Browsers rely on the same HID protocol as the operating system. However, an unusual HID device, like an intricate gamepad, may require personal logic to work properly in a browser. This API is now enabled by default and should improve things.
RELATED: What is a human interface device (HID)?
Web applications can use NFC
Chrome 89 on Android activates “Web NFC” by default. This means that web applications can now read and write NFC (Near Field Communications) tags. Usually only native programs could do this. Here is an example website that can scan and write NFC labels.
Google’s video above shows how a website interacts with NFC tags using Chrome’s Web NFC API.
RELATED: What is NFC (Near Field Communication), and what can I use it for?
Native web sharing on the desktop
It’s common to see social networking buttons on sites that allow you to easily share the page, but you’re limited to the social sites listed. Chrome 89 brings Windows and Chrome OS Web Sharing closer to what you see on Android.
If a website supports the new web sharing, the share button will open an original submenu. This way, you can share the link with any application on your device that supports it. You are not just limited to a Facebook and Twitter button. Here is an example website that supports it.
Removal of support for old processors
As of Chrome 89, the browser will no longer support older x86 processors that do not meet the new requirements. Devices must comply with a minimum of SSE3 (Supplemental Power SIMD Extensions 3).
This should not be a problem for the vast majority of devices using Chrome 89 today. Processors have been supporting SSE3 for almost 15 years. If you have one of these devices, get stuck on Chrome 88.
Developer Goods
Chrome 89 is particularly heavy on improvements under the hood and treats for developers. You can read about many of these changes on the developer website and the Chromium blog. We show some changes here:
- Debugging support for trusts of trusted types: Developers can set breakpoints and pick up exceptions for trusts of trusted types via the Resources panel.
- Capture button screenshot outside viewport: It is now possible to capture screenshots for a complete node and its contents under the folder in the Elements panel.
- New Trust Tokens tab for network requests: A new API called “Trust Token” can help combat fraud and distinguish clashes from real people without passive detection.
- The Lighthouse panel now operates Lighthouse 7.
- AVIF image decoding: Chrome can now load AVIF content with AVI decoders on Android and Webview.
- Origin Policy Reporting API: With a new API, websites can track usage on different domains.
- Forced color property: The new forced color CSS media query enables websites to detect whether the device is set to high contrast display mode.
Chrome will automatically install the update on your device when it’s available. Click Menu> Help> About Google Chrome to instantly check for and install available updates.
RELATED: How to update Google Chrome