Chrome for Android's new preview option copies Apple's Peek and Pop feature

How to turn off grid view on Chrome for Android
How to turn off grid view on Chrome for Android (Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Google is bringing a previewing feature to Chrome for Android with Chrome 89.
  • It's similar in execution to Apple's peek and pop feature and lets you sneak a little look into the content of links.
  • There's a server-side component to this so just having Chrome 89 isn't enough to see this feature.

Google has started rolling out an update to the Chrome browser for Android with a feature that's very reminiscent of Apple's once-popular peek and pop. It's called "Preview", and it allows you to peek into the contents of a page before loading up the full page.

It was spotted by the folks over at 9to5Google, and will arrive with Chrome 89, an update that also brings powerful new features for Chromebooks including enhanced mobile integration and screen recording.

Heading back to the preview feature, if this is available for you, you should see it as a new option that shows up in the long-press menu that comes up when you hold down on a link alongside common options as open in new incognito tab and the like. Should you click on preview, a small window, similar to the preview pane that you can find in the Google News mobile app, will pop up. You can then pull it up to expand it and visit the site, or you can close away if you're not that interested upon previewing.

While it's a nice to have feature on one of the best Android browsers and one that'll help prevent tab clutter, it's not something that you'd normally rush out to download.

If you are interested though, you can download Chrome 89 for Android from the Play Store, and check it out if the feature is live for you.

Michael Allison