Google has released Chrome 85 for Windows, Mac and Linux and is available for download. Tab Groups feature is now rolling out to users and the update includes performance improvements, QR sharing, lets you fill out and save PDF forms and last but not the least, the new version adds shortcuts menu aka App Shortcuts to Progressive Web Apps.
Tab Groups, the tab management feature is still not available by default in Chrome 85, it is currently being rolled out. Tab Groups are collapsible and expandable. Collapsible tab groups paves the way to focus on what to you want to do and saves you space on tab bar for sure.
Google claims pages in current Chrome load 10% faster than before. And new version adds support for AVIF image format and lets you edit PDF forms, in other words, you can fill out PDF forms, save and reopen them and edit from where you left off.
Share pages on the fly to smartphone by clicking on the QR icon in the address bar. The option to create QR code for page is also available on the page context menu. Chrome in per-release versions, lets you share image via QR code also.
The App Shortcuts menu for PWAs is now available out of the box in Chrome. Popular Twitter supports it.
- Visit Twitter web site in Chrome
- Click on the + icon in the address bar to install it.
- Right click on Twitter icon on taskbar to notice commonly used tasks — New Tweet, Explore, Notifications, Direct messages–are offered on the jump list.
Chrome Twitter PWA with jump lists on Windows 10 taskbar
Twitter PWA available on Microsoft Store offers those shortcuts, now Twitter PWA in Chrome also provides it with App Shortcuts feature available in Chromium.
We’ve said this already, Chrome from version 85 onwards installs into Program Files directory by default. This now applies to new installations of this version, but not for upgrades.
What’s your take on these new features and changes? Let us know in the comments below.
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