Google Chrome for Android is about to gain new autofill functionality that will make the feature much more convenient as of Chrome 85. The change, reportedly appearing in the developer variants of the app, will effectively bring over a feature from Gboard. Namely, it will remove recommendations as they currently stand and place them directly over the keyboard.
As the feature currently stands, autofill recommendations saved to a synced account in Chrome for Android appear as a card-like list of selections. Users choose an option from that list, typically represented as a name or other relevant field entry. Then, the form is automatically filled in with information associated with the synced data. For instance, it can fill in address details, phone numbers, and other pertinent information. But it doesn’t always get the information right and the UI itself takes up a lot of space on the screen.
That’s where the latest change takes over. Rather than showcasing options split by the data they contain, Google will reportedly present details only meant for the current field of the form. Those will be displayed in oval-shaped chips just above the keyboard. Expanding the chips shows the form-data to be filled for each field. And users will be able to individually select the data to be entered on a field by field basis.
That means that not only has the clunky UI been eliminated. But users will also be able to select the proper data to avoid mistakes in the autofill feature. As shown in associated images, that will make filling out forms more accurate and less bulky without losing efficiency and convenience.
This feature already exists in some form in the Gboard app
As noted above, the feature in question seems to derive inspiration from a recent change to the Gboard app. More succinctly, that’s Google’s recently launched clipboard feature. That change, like this one, eliminates some of the fingerwork required to fill things in but applies specifically to words that have been copied or cut.
With that change in place, Gboard automatically recognizes that a text entry box has been selected. Then, it presents chips similar to those mentioned above containing the text that’s been copied or cut. Those are placed just above the keyboard. So users save time over having to tap the clipboard icon to see everything they’ve recently cut or copied.
The incoming autofill change seems to build on a similar concept and incorporate the same UI for consistency. The key difference here is that Chrome is populating the suggestions with information saved from a syncing user account.
What evidence is there that the new Chrome for Android autofill feature will arrive with Chrome 85?
Now, the new feature could feasibly arrive via a server-side update in Chrome for Android but all signs seem to point to version 85. To begin with, the feature freeze date for Chrome 84 has already passed. Chrome 85’s feature freeze date is June 12. But that’s not the only indicator.
The feature in question is also prominently featured in the developer versions — Dev and Canary Channels — of Chrome for Android. That doesn’t guarantee a launch with Chrome 85. But it strongly suggests that it is the targetted release version for the feature.
That places the timeline for release out to August 25 or later, which is the currently slated date for Chrome 85 to arrive.