First look: This special version of Chrome for Android supports extensions
Chrome for Android doesn’t support browser extensions yet, but Google is developing a version that does.
- Here’s a first look at the Desktop Android version of Google Chrome, which supports browser extensions.
- Extension support is pretty rudimentary at the moment, but Google is hard at work making it better.
- The Desktop Android version of Chrome is intended for Chromebooks and PCs that run Android and not phones or tablets.
Google Chrome may be the most popular web browser on Android, but it’s not the most powerful option. That’s because it lacks a key feature found on many other Android browsers: extension support. Google is finally working on a version of Chrome for Android that supports browser extensions, though, and we managed to get it up and running for a quick demonstration.
Last year, we revealed that Google is working on special “desktop” builds of Chrome for Android with extension support. These special builds of Chrome are intended for PCs that run Android rather than mobile devices, hence why they’re called “desktop” builds. The reason for this is that Google plans to transition Chrome OS to an Android base, so the company needs to build a version of Chrome for Android with extension support in order to maintain feature parity between Chrome OS and Android.
