Google is improving in-app browsers, they can now share the screen with the app

Many Android apps display web content on their own, preventing the user from switching back and forth between the app and the browser, such as when tapping a link in Gmail. One way to do this is to use the WebView component, but Google thinks custom tabs are the best way to go and they’ve now improved them even further with a few enhancements.

The first is partial custom tabs. Instead of filling the entire screen, web content can now only cover half, which improves the multitasking experience since you can still use the app (eg continue reading the email). You can use something like split-screen mode to achieve the same effect, but it requires additional interaction. The app developer decides the initial size of the partial tab, the user is always free to go full screen if they prefer.

Custom tabs are a feature provided by the user’s chosen web browser. If this browser does not support partial custom tabs, a full screen tab will be used instead. Obviously, Chrome supports this feature, but so do other browsers.

However, if you choose Chrome, the custom tab will support regular Chrome features, including auto-filling text fields and password fields.

spring | Via