Google has just rolled out a brand new version of its Chrome browser for iPhones and iPads, finally bringing in new widgets, as well as squashing bugs.
As part of the version 90.0.4430.78 update, which landed on the App Store on May 10, Chrome is the most recent Google app to drop a set of bespoke home screen widgets.
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Last year, iOS 14 first introduced widgets to the iPhone, where they've quickly become a mainstay of the user experience. Google has been rather sluggish in updating its iOS apps, sometimes lagging behind in adding support for certain features.
The same applies to its widgets: Google is still adding them to their iOS apps nearly a year after iOS 14 landed. That's until now, as Google's new nifty selection of home screen widgets allow iPhone and iPad users to quickly view upcoming calendar appointments, boost web browsing and much more.
How to add Google's new widgets
After you have installed the latest Chrome update on your iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 14, you should be able to see three new widgets — Search, Chrome Dino Game and Quick Actions.
Adding these new Chrome widgets is the same process as it is for other iOS/iPadOS widgets. Press down on the home screen for three seconds before the screen's icons perform their familiar wiggle motion. Tap "Edit Home Screen," and then press the "+" icon in the upper-left corner of the screen.
Once completed, scroll downwards, click the Google Chrome shortcut, and then select any of the three options now available. You can hold and drag the widget or, as is custom to Apple devices, click the "Add Widget" button at the bottom of your screen.
New widgets, new abilities
So, what do the widgets do? Quick Actions adds several useful Chrome shortcuts, adding incognito mode, a search bar, voice search and a QR code scanner.
Search is just a smaller-scale version of that widget, including a straightforward search bar to handle internet searches. Chrome Dino, well, if you haven't seen it before, it's the silly but endlessly fun Google game that lets users dodge pterodactyls and cacti as a digital dinosaur runs across the screen.
All in all, there are some pretty handy updates to be had here. It's always nice to see Google embracing the more light-hearted side of its brand through the Chrome Dino widget, especially to offset the more serious Chrome security fixes that have recently hit the headlines.
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