Latest Chromer update lets you preload links in Chat Heads-style bubbles

Chromer is a relatively new app in the Google Play Store that harnesses the power of Google’s Chrome Custom Tabs to make browsing much quicker on mobile devices. Chrome Custom Tabs provide a lighter, faster and safe browsing experience, which is something we can all get behind.

Now, developer Arunkumar has released Chromer version 1.5 to the Play Store that will largely change the way you browse websites and open links.

Instead of opening up every single link in a Chrome Custom Tab, Chromer now has the ability to utilize a new feature called WebHeads – floating bubbles that pre-load websites off to the side of your screen. WebHeads can be turned on in the Settings menu of the app. Once turned on, each link you click on will open up a WebHead. You can stack these floating bubbles atop one another, too. After you click on a WebHead, the bubble will close and the link will open in a Chrome Custom Tab. The top-most bubble in your stack will load considerably faster than the other bubbles, so you shouldn’t have to spend a whole lot of time waiting for links to load. You can also drag and drop bubbles to the trash can at the bottom of the screen if you’d like to get rid of them, though the implementation still isn’t as smooth as something you’d get with Facebook’s Chat Heads or Link Bubble.

I used to use Link Bubble religiously, and just recently switched over to Chromer. My only qualm with the app was that it didn’t have the ability to open links in bubbles, so I’m really happy this feature is now available.

There are a few other changes in this update too. The dynamic toolbar in the app has been enhanced, and you now even have the ability to add a configurable action item to the Custom Tab toolbar for quickly sharing links to other apps. Here’s the full changelog if you’re interested:

• WEBHEADS: Ability to stack multiple links in floating bubbles and open them later.
• Configurable action item in custom tab. Choose between secondary browser and any sharing app.
• Ability to do text, voice search from main screen.
• Dynamic toolbar enhanced. Now can adapt color based on the launching app’s color.
• Sharing a non url text to Chromer will now do a Google search.
• Fixed default behavior on Cyanogen devices
• Improved warm up and pre-fetch performance on non Chrome browsers
• Bug fixes

Chromer version 1.5 is now available in the Play Store, so follow the link below if you’re interested.