ChromeOS 108 gives web apps far more visibility in the URL bar

It has been a few years since Chrome and ChromeOS began giving users a clear heads-up when a web app version of the site they are viewing has a dedicated version of that site “installed” on the local system. You’ve likely seen it before and perhaps, like me, you actually look for it when browsing the web to see what websites have a dedicated PWA available for use on your Chromebook.

Head to Twitter, Google Keep, Gmail, GeForce NOW or tons of other applicable sites and if you don’t have the app installed already, Chrome will prompt you to add the site to your Chromebook as a web application. Once you’ve installed the PWA, your next trip to that same site will prompt you to open the site via the PWA instead. Again, this has been a part of ChromeOS for a while at this point.

A new UI for PWAs

Just today, I noticed an entirely new interface for this feature in ChromeOS 108. Though it doesn’t actually change the way you install or open PWAs from the URL bar, it does make a much bigger deal of the opportunity than it used to. Take a look at the difference in both the prompt to open the current site in the PWA and the pop-up window interface as well.

Again, this isn’t a different functionality than we had before, but it sure does grab the eyes a whole lot more than it used to. While the old prompt technically worked just fine, I really love seeing this change to help promote PWAs for users on the web.

Not just for PWAs anymore

And the coolest part of this is the fact that it applies not only to full-blown PWAs, but to standard web apps and simple Chrome shortcuts, too. In all the images above, you’ll notice I’m using Google Analytics as the main example. Analytics doesn’t have a true PWA or a prompt for the user to install or create a shortcut at all. I simply add a shortcut from the 3-dot menu like I’ve done for years.

The best part is, ChromeOS sees that I’ve added Analytics as a windowed shortcut and gives me the option to interact with it just like an Android app, PWA, web app or anything else installed on my Chromebook. It’s a great change to the way all of this is being handled and allows users like myself to interact with my ‘appified’ web shortcuts the way I like to: as applications.

If you are on ChromeOS 108, you’ll likely see the change soon. We have seen it on certain devices and it is still not showing on others, so the change is probably a server-side one. Hang tight and it should show up any time now.