Google testing new Share UI for Chrome with QR Code generator and screenshot tool

Android’s share menu has gathered mixed reactions for a long time. With Android 10, Google improved the share sheet by organizing it and improving share suggestions. However, the firm’s own apps such as Photos, YouTube, and News use different approaches to present the share dialog. Now, the company is testing a new share flyout for Chrome that includes a QR code generator.

Spotted by AndroidPolice, the new share interface seems to add an additional line of options to share content that is specific to the browser, including a new “QR Code” feature that lets users create a QR code and share it across with the recipient. The option is followed by the ‘Send to your devices” and “Copy link” options. The last option is the built-in screenshot tool that likely lets users crop part of the webpage without having to leave the app. A nifty addition could be to also scroll and capture, something that some OEMs provide natively on their Android variants.

The QR generator currently only opens a page that offers to scan a QR code or generate one. However, neither of those abilities are functional yet. Tapping on the screenshot icon also does not trigger any action, suggesting that the whole feature is still in the development stage. For the time being, the option to send to users’ devices and the ability to copy a link to the webpage are currently functional.

The second row on the share dialog lets users share with other apps. On scrolling further to the right, a “More” option is present that opens Android 10’s default share menu. The list of apps would likely be tailored to users’ usage and looks clean and minimalist.

The new share interface can be enabled by those running Chrome Canary by heading to chrome://flags and enabling the #chrome-sharing-hub and #chrome-share-screenshot flags. Considering that the feature is still hidden in the Canary version, it will be interesting to see what improvements and/or changes will be made before it makes its way to the stable version.

Screenshots credit: AndroidPolice