Through this update, Google will implement support for “arbitrary HTML content” in addition to videos in Chrome ‘s “picture-in-picture” feature .
Google is developing an enhancement for the “picture-in-picture” feature in the latest Beta version of its Chrome browser . Through this new update, the tool will no longer only serve to play videos, but is also studying the possibility of displaying any web content in a floating window that remains on top of the rest of the windows.
According to what the firm points out on its official blog , version 111 of the Chrome Beta already includes the additional functions of the tool and has been renamed to “Document picture-in-picture” by the company. Thanks to the improvement, it can be much more useful for users since it could show entire applets that take advantage of Google ‘s browser API .
Google renews its “picture-in-picture” function
Although the examples that Google provides about its renewed “picture-in-picture” tool show possibilities that were already present, such as video players with a personalized user interface or a mini player for video conferences that gives you access to the person grid. and basic buttons, the firm also suggests that the feature could be used to display, for example, a music playlist.
At this time, it is not clear if the “picture-in-picture” function in full documents will also reach other browsers that do not use Chromium . One of the feature’s developers asked the teams associated with Firefox and Safari for their position on the matter but did not get a definitive answer. However, some members of the Mozilla team raised concerns about the feature being used to display annoying pop-ups, and the folks at Apple aren’t sure if it’ll be possible to implement it on iOS.
A new Chrome feature is coming
According to the Chrome Browser status tracker , the feature will be tested up to version 115 of the browser, possibly launching in June. After this, the developers will likely take into account the feedback they receive about the feature to decide how to move forward.
If you have Chrome beta up to update 115 and want to test the feature, you can enable it by pasting [chrome://flags/#document-picture-in-picture-api] in the URL bar and selecting the “Enabled” option ” in the dropdown menu. However, for now there are not many sites that support this new Google tool , but it is possible to find one.