Besides outright simplicity and convenience, Google Chrome is loaded to the gills with functional bits as well. For instance, the desktop version of the browser doubles up as a password manager, PDF viewer, and HTML viewer. The android client for Chrome hasn’t achieved feature parity yet, and we sorely missour favorite browser extensionson mobile, but Google is working on making things better with support for opening PDF files directly in Chrome.
Unlike its desktop counterpart, Google Chrome for Android doesn’t support opening PDF files directly, compelling you to install adedicated PDF viewer/editor appif you deal with the file format frequently. Chrome features potter @Leopeva64 on X (formerly Twitter) spotted new flags in the mobile client which implied that support for the file format was in the cards. The flag spotted last month allows Chrome toautomatically open PDF filesas soon as they are downloaded.
Now, Leopeva has spottedanother flagin the latest Canary build (version 123) on Android which enables the browser to open PDFs inline. This means Chrome can open up PDFs without downloading them onto your device storage first.
Chrome://flags/#android-open-pdf-inline
An example of inline PDF handling in Firefox for Android
Rival browsers like Firefox already support opening PDF documents inline, while Microsoft Edge has taken another step forward with browser extension support on Android. So, Google isn’t paving the way with Chrome, but the company could be capitalizing on Android 15’s support for the updated MediaProvider Mainline module whichMishaal Rahman mentionedrecently.
The firstAndroid 15preview build is expected soon, and the updated Mainline module will include a PDF viewer, so Google Chrome could be among the first apps to hit the ground running when Chrome 123 drops alongside Android 15 beta builds. While the internal implementation may be different, Google creeping closer towards feature parity across operating systems is never a bad thing.
