Chrome for Android picking up slick new autofill bar

Kyle Bradshaw | Jun 8 2020 - 12:00 pm PT

Google Chrome’s built-in autofill service is one of the better ways to save time when filling out forms on the internet. Chrome for Android is about to make that process even smoother with a new bar UI for autofill for addresses, passwords, and billing info.

Right now in Google Chrome for Android, when filling out a form that could be autofilled, you’re presented with something of a dropdown list of options, below the part of the form you’re filling out. By tapping one of these options, the entire form is filled out based on the option you chose. There are a few downsides to this design, as Chrome’s autofill suggestions take up a decent portion of the screen, and there’s no way to only use autofill info for the box you’re typing in.

In recent versions of Chrome Dev and Chrome Canary for Android, as noted by Chrome Story, Google has changed over to a far more slick UI that floats just above your keyboard. In the new autofill bar, you’re offered your various addresses and payment methods in Material Design “chips,” and on the far right you’re offered quick access to your passwords, addresses, and cards.

: Old

: New

: Select portions

Inside those menus, you’re able to select one particular portion of your addresses and cards, allowing you to fill out only the box you’re currently typing in. This is especially handy if you need to mix and match portions of your addresses — like using your normal shipping address but a different name or email address — or if Chrome misjudges how to autofill the form correctly.

As Chrome Dev is currently on version 85, we can most likely expect this new autofill bar to arrive with Chrome for Android version 85, set to release sometime in August.