For those of you who use Chrome OS’ Virtual Desks on a regular basis, you know all too well how they have evolved over time. From being an absolutely basic feature at first – presenting users with a total of 4 desktops to virtually move through – to the more fully-featured version we have now, the work on Virtual Desks never seems to take a break.
We know that new things like ALT-TAB improvements, better transitions, assign to desk, up to eight total desks, and drag-and-drop navigation are all on the way, there’s yet another workflow addition Google is in the process of implementing for this feature that will go a long way towards making Virtual Desks even more useful for end users.
Mirrored windows across desks
In a move that I honestly haven’t thought I needed but could really see the benefit in, Google looks to be adding a feature for Virtual Desks on Chrome OS that will allow users to repeat open windows across multiple desks at once. For instance, if you want music player controls, email, or perhaps Google Keep in a floating window on every desktop you have open, this new feature will allow for that behavior.
Again, while I haven’t thought about the need for this in my daily workflow, I have to admit the premise sounds very intriguing. I’d imagine chat apps, media apps, and note taking apps being high on the list of use cases, here. I know I’d love to be able to have Google Keep or Gmail quickly available in more than one of my desktops. The change above refers to apps, but we’re not 100% clear how this will work with Android apps at this point. I can fully understand how Chrome would handle this for System Web Apps or PWAs, but the implementation might be a bit tougher with Android.
Time will tell and if this new change is anything like the ones we’ve been seeing lately with Virtual Desks, it will be implemented at least in the Developer Channel pretty soon. The work has been merged on the above-mentioned commit, but it is clear this is only laying the groundwork for this new ability. I’d expect this to pop up in Chrome OS 90 or so if I’m guessing. As always, we’ll be keeping track and let you know when we actually begin seeing this new feature show up.
