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One of the parts of using both Chrome and Chrome OS for years that I’ve always loved is the password saving functionality. This feature has gone from completely bare-bones to a pretty stellar, built-in addition for all Chrome users across multiple platforms. Honestly, its one of those things I routinely find myself using and wondering what exactly I’d do without it.
Part of the usefulness of the password manager in Chrome and Chrome OS is the fact that those passwords travel to other devices and systems when you are logged into Chrome. In order to manage those passwords, you can go to passwords.google.com or, on a Chromebook, just find them in your settings. But there is one other way to manipulate, adjust and change those passwords on the fly, and that is via the omnibar.
You see, each time you access a site or service that requires a password, Chrome will prompt you to save that password or, if it senses you’ve changed or updated a password for that site, it will then ask if you’d like to save the new one. This little tweak we’ve spotted in Chrome OS 80 via the Dev Channel is one of the most handy features and it is getting a fresh paint job in Chrome OS 80.
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No extra features are being added to it at the moment, but the layout has been spruced up with a Google-y graphic and a bit tighter alignment of the necessary elements. You still have the drop down to see all the passwords you have saved for the site you are on and the ability to save and update those passwords on the fly. The whole box is less wide and more vertically oriented, but the biggest difference is the way it presents itself.
The new look just feels more inviting and on purpose instead of a half-thought-out function of the browser. As Google’s password manger has really evolved into a highly-useful tool, small tweaks like theses will go a long way towards making the whole experience feel much more inviting to both the user who leverages the password storage daily or the new user who’s never given it a try.
