Google further integrates Chrome web apps with Android

Google has announced that it will be adding a new feature to the Chrome beta in the coming weeks. When a user adds a site to their home screen, it will now also show up in the Android app drawer.

Google writes that it already introduced the possibility in 2015 to have sites ask to add a link to the Android home screen. With the new feature, it aims to expand this capability. In the new version of Chrome, if a user adds a Progressive Web App to their home screen, it integrates further into Android than it has until now.

For example, the web app is included in the app drawer and in Android’s settings just like a normal app. These web apps were already able to send notifications, but now users can also get to the Android Notification Center by long-pressing a notification instead of the Chrome browser. To add such an app to the home screen, it is still necessary to use the corresponding Chrome function.