As promising as iOS (and iPadOS) widgets are, it’s not a stretch to say we don’t have a whole lot of them to choose from right now. If the rumors about Apple‘s upcoming iPadOS 15 are correct, iPad users will eventually be able to position widgets anywhere on their home screen, so we can expect developers to focus on them more later this year.But for now, it’s good to see any big-name app get new iPhone and iPad widgets, and Google Chrome just got two new ones. The first is a fun time waster while the second one will help make your web searching faster.
Chrome Dino game widget
The Dino widget will launch Google Chrome and then its dinosaur minigame with just a single tap. If you don’t know about the Dino game, it’s a fun endless runner that’s built into all versions of Chrome, and sports simple tap controls.It was first introduced on desktop Chrome as a somewhat hidden easter egg that you could enable when your internet was down, but it’s far from a secret nowadays. If you often find yourself in need for short-term entertainment, this is a good widget to have on your iPhone or iPad.
Chrome Search widget
This new widget might not be as fun as the Dino one, but it makes up for that by being very useful to have. It’s but a simple Google Search widget, meaning you just need to tap it in order to start your web search, saving you the two extra steps of having to launch the Chrome app and then tapping the search bar.
Here are Google Chrome’s three widgets you can have right now, with the two new ones included:
To get the widgets, just make sure you have the Google Chrome app on your iPhone or iPad and it’s updated to the latest version.
If your apps don’t auto-update, simply head on over to the App Store, search for Chrome and tap the “Update” button next to its name. If there’s no such button and the only option is to “Open” the app, then it’s already updated to the latest version and you have the widgets.
I had to re-open Chrome after updating it for the widgets to appear, so in case you still don’t see them, try that. Here’s hoping we start seeing more big-name developers bringing us fun and useful new widgets.
