Chrome adds the Dino game, quick access to Lens search, and Incognito Mode widgets to Android

In its effort to help users find answers and access things faster in Chrome, Google is now adding a few new widgets on Android. I generally don’t use widgets on my Pixel phone, but that’s just because I feel they’re less useful than gimmicky, but with these latest updates, I may very well do so!

Every month, we look to add more features to Chrome to help you find information and get things done while navigating the web, whether you’re on your laptop or phone.

The Keyword

As you can see in the image below, a new Chrome Dino widget can be added to your home screen by pressing and holding Chrome, tapping the widgets icon, and choosing “Chrome Dino”. Tapping it once it’s placed will launch chrome://dino in the browser so you can play without having to lose your internet connection!

The next widget being added is called “Chrome shortcuts”, and provides not only a Google Search box, but a voice search microphone, a shortcut to incognito mode, one-tap access to Google Lens, and yes, Chrome Dino as well.

With Lens being baked into the search bar at the bottom of Pixel phones and incognito mode just a press and hold and a tap away, these new tools may not be useful for everyone, but anyone who is rocking a different phone model, those who don’t exactly keep the Chrome browser icon within reach, or those who want to play the Dino game without the little guy taking up a large portion of their screen, this second widget is ideal.

The Chrome Shortcuts widget can appear in a vertically stacked position or a horizontal layout, and you can control this simply by resizing it to be less or more tall than it is wide. It’s dynamic in that sense, but for those who just want a mini Dino on their home screen without these additional shortcuts, you’re out of luck as the Chrome Dino one can not be shrunk down to a 1×1 size!