Chrome adds picture-in-picture web browsing for Android apps

Opening a web page within an app is about to get a little more pleasant – in some Android apps, at least. O Chrome M124 Update adds the ability to open web pages in the app in picture-in-picture mode, allowing you to switch between the web page and the app without closing the browsing session.

The feature is coming to Android apps that use Chrome Custom Tabs, which allows developers to provide personalized browsing experiences in their apps. If it’s available in an app you use, you’ll see a new down arrow in the top left corner of an app’s web page. Tap the arrow and the web page will minimize to a floating window in the bottom right corner of the screen. You can tap the window to open the tab again.

In fact, this feature seems very useful. I can’t count how many times I’ve had to close a web page in the app to reference something within the app, only to lose everything I was seeing. For now, the feature is only available in apps that use Chrome-based mobile browsers, but we hope others follow suit.