Chrome for Android and iOS adds a few useful Search features and one I could live without

Per a new Google Keyword blog post, Chrome Mobile is enhancing its user experience with the introduction of four new Search-centric features on both Android and iOS. First, new search suggestions will appear when you tap on the address bar. Let’s say you’re searching for Japan in anticipation of an upcoming trip. Upon opening the Omnibox, you’ll see a new section called “Related to this page” which displays suggestions tied to the page’s content, offering relevant recommendations, like “restaurants in Japan”, “things to do in Tokyo”, and more – cool!

The second new feature is “Trending searches”, and it’s available exclusively for Android devices at the moment, with an iOS rollout expected later in the year. Unfortunately, you’ll see the most popular search queries and for some, this may help you stay informed.

For me, it’s just another way to be inundated with crap I don’t care about. I hardly ever search for the things others do, and trending searches are often full of dark and depressing news topics. While important to stay aware of the world around us, I find it best to go and seek that kind of stuff out when you’re in the right headspace instead of having it smack you in the face every time you open an app.

Chrome Mobile has also enhanced the Touch to Search tool. If you run into a topic that you want to know more about, you can just tap on that word to see a smart chip carousel open up at the bottom of your screen in a web wrapper. Lastly, if you have an iPhone, you may notice that search suggestions are being bumped up from six to ten in the address bar. You’ll always see the most relevant suggestions first, just like Android users, who already had this feature.

I think the related searches feature will be pretty useful, but the new trending searches thing caught me off guard. I opened Chrome yesterday to search for the next Pokémon Go community day event and my seven-year-old son was watching over my shoulder.

Thanks to the trending searches being smack dab in the center of the screen where they weren’t previously, he asked me what one of them was and it was not kid friendly! While it’s my responsibility to screen what he sees, Google’s sudden rollout of this feature smacked me in the face, so I wanted you to be aware beforehand.

Anyway, the Touch to Search update is like an upgraded version of the long-press feature on a web page to call up a web wrapper at the bottom, but now, there are smart chips, which I think is something I’ll use often. Let me know in the comments if you hope trending searches can be toggled off in the settings! I didn’t see such an option after digging a bit in Chrome’s settings, but it could pop up in the future.