Chrome for Android has had offline viewing capabilities for a while now, and the functionality seems to have been a hit: Google reckons 45 million web pages are downloaded every week. This looks like it’s only getting better, as Google product manager Tal Oppenheimer announced yesterday some of the new improvements coming to Chrome for Android’s offline features.
In a Google blog post, Oppenheimer said you can now tap and hold on any link to download it with the “Download link” option — something that is also possible with article suggestions that appear when you open a new tab. What’s more, the dinosaur page you’ll find in Chrome if you try to access a page while you’re offline now includes a “Download Page Later,” button. Tapping this will mean the page is automatically downloaded when you reconnect to the internet.
Finally, Google has also altered the “new tab” page so that you’ll now see your offline articles, indicated by their “offline badge.” Your most recent downloads will also be shown there at the right-side of the page, too.
Chrome’s offline features aren’t something that most people in the West are likely to make use of very often, but when you’re flying or abroad, they could come in very handy.
These features should now be available in the latest version of Chrome. If you don’t have it already, download it at the button below.