Opening a web page within an app can be a difficult process, but it can be a bit easier with the new Chrome update for Android apps. The new Chrome M124 update adds the ability to open in-app web pages in a kind of picture-in-picture mode. This allows users to exchange apps and web pages without losing their browsing session.

Google has announced that the new tab feature in the Chromium blog is for Android apps that use the Chrome custom tab feature. This allows developers to provide a custom browsing experience within the app. 

The example provided by the Chrome developer is to click a link in the Gmail app to open a browser window. Apps that use a Chrome-based mobile browser, such as Gmail, will see a new icon when the browser window opens. Look for the down arrow next to the URL bar. It is very minimal and easy to miss.

Clicking the arrow will return you to Gmail, but it will leave a small floating window at the bottom of the screen showing the open browser tab. Click on it and you can go back to Chrome.

It is unclear whether the Chrome M124 update has been rolled out to most or all users. I tried to test this feature on the old but latest Samsung Galaxy S22, but this feature was not yet available. The Chrome blog did not indicate when the M124 update will hit all devices. Previous blogs from the beginning of the month have shown that larger M124 updates are being rolled out to different devices during the month.

When this feature is available, it looks pretty handy. The ability to quickly return to the app or browser without either closing or moving around Android to return a great sound. As mentioned, it's only available for apps that use a Chrome-based mobile browser, but this is a handy feature to see all the places. In particular, Samsung phones that like to make Samsung's "Internet browser" the default.