Chrome 74 for Android rolling out w/ ‘reduced motion’ support, Translate menu, renamed ‘Lite mode’

Following the Mac, Windows, and Linux update, Chrome 74 is now rolling out to Android. This version allows websites to respect an operating system preference to reduce motion, while “Data Saver” has been renamed to “Lite mode.”

Android 9 Pie features a “Remove animations” toggle in Accessibility settings to help users prone to motion sickness. It reduces transition animations, parallax scrolling, and zooming effects across the OS and third-party apps.

In Chrome 74, the CSS prefers-reduced-motion media query tells websites to respect this system-level user preference. Web developers have to support the feature by turning off animations or creating a motion-reduced variant of pages. It is also ideal for users that want less animations and a faster browsing experience in general.

While many users enjoy such animations, some users dislike them because they feel distracted or slowed down from them. In the worst case, users may even suffer from motion sickness as if it were a real life experience, so for these users reducing animations is a medical necessity.

“Data Saver” in Chrome 74 for Android has been renamed to “Lite mode.” It better reflects additional steps to speed up site load times and reduce memory usage. Lite mode works by rewriting “very slow pages” on Google’s servers and only sending users the “essential content.” There is up to a 60% reduction in data usage, with the feature sporting a new icon.

First appearing on desktop with Chrome 73, the “Sync and Google services” menu is beginning to roll out on mobile. It consolidates all options related to data collected by Google in the browser. Many of these settings were previously under “Privacy,” which is now streamlined. This new page is still slowly rolling out to users.

First appearing with the previous release, Chrome 74 more widely rolls out shortcuts to quickly share or edit a URL. Tapping on the Omnibar will note the current site name and link below, with buttons to the right. The former opens the system share sheet, while the latter allows you to quickly change the address before navigating.

Version 74 also adds “Translate” to the Overflow menu. Tapping slides up the existing translation tool at the bottom of the screen, with languages selectable in the overflow menu. This allows users to “translate any web page instantly.”

This release also deprecates “drive-by downloads in sandboxed iframes.” The browser will “prevent downloads in sandboxed iframes that lack a user gesture.” Rather than having downloads start automatically after landing on a new page, or have it initiate “non-spontaneously after the click,” users will have to manually click.

Chrome 74 for Android and desktops is rolling out now, with Chrome OS following next week.

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