The Chrome developer team is at it again. This time, the developer build of Chrome for Android is experimenting with a new search widget. Search bars on Android aren’t new by any means but this one might be a little different than what we’re used to.
If you are an Android user, whether you use it or not, you’re probably familiar with the search widget. Many of you likely have the traditional Google search bar on your phone right now. Some of you might have the Pixel style “G” like in the image above. Both of these options are great and will give you Google search results and recent searches. The major difference with this new search widget is that it searches directly inside of Chrome.
The current Android and Pixel widgets search within the Google App and though they aren’t slow, the new, experimental widget does seem to be noticeably quicker. Also, since you’re literally searching from within Chrome, you get all the usual Google results like Top Stories, images, shopping etc. This leads me to another unique feature of this widget that sets it apart from what we’re accustomed to using.
Our good friend Dinsan Francis from Chrome Story was astute to point out the fact that you can change your search engine with the new widget. I’m not sure why you’d want to but that’s just me. I’m a Google guy, you know that. Either way, if you prefer Bing, Yahoo or whatever, you can set your default search engine in Chrome Dev and that is what the widget will use when searching.
To activate the widget first install the developer build of Chrome for Android from the Play Store here. Once installed, simply long-press anywhere one your phones display then select Widgets. Scroll down until you see Chrome Dev and drag the Chrome Dev search bar onto your home screen. You’re all set. Don’t worry, if you find Chrome Dev to be too buggy you can still use Stable as your default browser.
Source: Chrome Story
