Google Chrome 89 brings integration between Android phones and Chrome OS, better support for gamepads in the browser, NFC for web apps and native web sharing. It will be released today, on March 2, 2021.
Chrome OS Phone Hub for Android devices
Google has been working on a “phone hub” for Chrome OS for some time. The functionality is similar to Microsoft’s “Your Phone” app on Windows 10. You can link your Android device and sync notifications, view recent tabs and more.
Currently, Phone Hub can be activated manually via a Chrome flag. Some people have seen it on Chrome 88, but it should be working even better on Chrome 89. You can see it without enabling anything after installing Chrome OS 89.
RELATED: How to activate the Chrome OS Android phone hub now
WebHID enabled by default
“WebHID” is an API that aims to make less standardized keyboards and gamepads 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, such as a complex gamepad, may require custom logic to work correctly 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 enables “Web NFC” by default. This means that web applications can now read and write NFC (Near Field Communications) tags. Typically, only native applications are able to do this. Here is an example of a website that can scan and write NFC tags.
The Google video above shows a website interacting with NFC tags using the Chrome Web NFC API.
RELATED: What is NFC (Near Field Communication) and what can I use it for?
Native desktop web sharing
It is common to see social media buttons on sites that allow you to easily share the page, but you are limited to the social sites listed. Chrome 89 brings web sharing to Windows and Chrome OS in line with what you see on Android.
If a website supports new sharing on the web, the share button will open a native sharing menu. That way, you can share the link with any application on your device that supports it. You are not limited to just a Facebook and Twitter button. Here is an example of a website that supports it.
Dropping support for older processors
As of Chrome 89, the browser will no longer support older x86 processors that do not meet the new requirements. Devices will need to meet a minimum of SSE3 (Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extensions 3).
This shouldn’t be an issue for the vast majority of devices running Chrome 89 today. Processors have been supporting SSE3 for almost 15 years. If you have one of these devices, you’ll be stuck in Chrome 88.
Developer Goodies
Chrome 89 is especially heavy on the underlying improvements and developer benefits. You can read about many of these changes on the developer’s website and on the Chromium blog. We will highlight some changes here:
- Debugging support for breaches of trusted types: Developers can set breakpoints and catch exceptions in Reliable Type Violations through the Sources panel.
- Capture the screenshot of the node beyond the preview window: It is now possible to capture images of a complete node and the contents below the folder in the Elements panel.
- New Trust Tokens tab for network requests: A new API called “Trust Token” can help fight fraud and distinguish bots from real people without passive tracking.
- The Lighthouse panel is now running Lighthouse 7.
- AVIF image decoding: Chrome can now load AVIF content natively with AVI decoders on Android and Webview.
- Cross-open policy reporting API: A new API allows websites to track usage across different domains.
- Forced color properties: The new forced color CSS media query allows websites to detect whether the device is configured for high contrast display mode.
Chrome will automatically install the update on your device when it becomes available. To immediately check and install any available updates, click the menu> Help> About Google Chrome.
RELATED: How to update Google Chrome