Chrome 90 for iPhone and iPad rolling out with trio of search, Dino widgets

Abner Li | May 10 2021 - 10:50 am PT

Last month, Google released the first Chrome for iOS update since November. However, that version just focused on delivering bug fixes as the company waited for the next major browser milestone to add new features. Chrome 90 for iPhone and iPad is now rolling out with widgets.

At the start of April, Google released a minor update on top of version 87 (from late November) to just address bugs and other issues. The company uncharacteristically skipped version 88 in January and 89 in March. The first major Chrome update for iOS this year is now here with version 90. The update rolled out to Android, Mac, Windows, and Linux during the middle of last month.

The big user-facing addition is Chrome widgets for iPhone and iPad. The first measures 2×1 and lets you quickly jump into the address bar or open a private browsing tab. There’s also voice search to start up the microphone and quick access to the QR reader.

Quick Actions: Search or navigate in a new tab, in Incognito mode, using your voice, or with a QR code
Search: Search in Chrome with your favorite search engine
Chrome Dino Game: Jump into Chrome Dino game from your Home screen

The other two are 1×1 and just act as quick shortcuts, with the latter opening chrome://dino to access the easter egg game. All three adjust their background based on your current theme. Meanwhile, version 90 of the iPhone and iPad browser adds the ability to edit your saved usernames and passwords in Chrome settings. The full changelog is below:

Search and Dino widgets, which are available on iOS 14. Tap and hold your home screen, tap the ‘+’ icon, and look for Chrome widgets.
You can now edit your saved usernames and passwords in Chrome Settings.
Stability and performance improvements.