Google has simplified Chrome‘s page downloads for offline use on Android devices today with some minor adjustments to the way things work, and with the addition of a couple of things that users should now be seeing when they go to interact with the option to download a web page so they can read it or view it later when they don’t have an internet connection. While Google hasn’t changed a whole lot here, the changes they did introduce are with every intention to make it easier to interact with the page downloads feature.
For instance, in the unlikely event that you’re trying to download a web page for viewing offline and you happen to barely miss the window of opportunity, meaning you lose an internet connection before you can download the web page, Google is making it easier to get that page downloaded as soon as you’re re-connected to the internet as there will now be a button that lets users download the page later. As mentioned, when tapping this button Chrome will simply download the web page the moment it re-connects to the internet by saving the page download request in a queue. This makes it so that users won’t have to go back and search for the web page or hit the reload button once connected again and re-initiate the download on their own. Chrome will simply handle it so long as they hit this button.
In addition it’s now possible for users to long press on links to receive a list of download options, one of which will now be the capability to download a link for offline use. Lastly, Chrome will actually label your downloaded web pages with badges. These won’t be too hard to spot as they resemble a little check mark with a line under it just like other content you download from the web. This badge will appear next to articles or web pages you’ve downloaded whenever you open a new tab in Chrome. The aim here is so that users have a simpler method for reengaging with this content once they have the time. Google notes that you’ll need the latest version of Chrome for Android to see these features.