Chrome for Android readies unified “add to home screen” button

Google Chrome is unifying its options for adding a website to the home screen on your Android device. While the overall experience remains mostly unchanged, you will not encounter two different options on different websites. The company is housing both options under a single button.

Google unifies the “add to home screen” button on Chrome for Android

Google Chrome for Android lets you add website shortcuts to the home screen. Not only the browser’s home page but the home screen of the device. You get an app icon with the website’s logo. Tapping it takes you directly to that website in Chrome. It’s a convenient way to access websites that you visit frequently.

Currently, there are two different options to get these website shortcuts via Chrome for Android. On most sites, the overflow menu (three vertical dots in the top right corner) shows an “Add to Home screen” button. Tapping it lets you customize the name of the app icon before placing it on the home screen of your device.

However, on some websites, you will see an “Install app” button instead of the “Add to Home screen” button. This might be confusing if you just wanted to add a shortcut to the website without installing a separate app unless you are aware that this button serves the same purpose differently.

The “Install app” only appears on websites that have a Progressive Web App (PWA). Tapping it installs the PWA, which feels like a native Android app but is handled by your browser rather than the Google Play Store. Along with a home screen shortcut, PWAs also get an icon on the app drawer with the website’s logo.

Google seemingly knows that only showing users one or the other option could be confusing. It is now testing a unified interface. As spotted by WindowsReport, the latest Canary builds of Chrome for Android have a new flag to enable the “PWA Universal Install” feature.

Once enabled, you will find an expandable “Add to Home screen” button on the overflow menu on all websites in Chrome. Tapping it will let you pick between a home screen shortcut and a PWA, likely depending on availability. This is a welcome change that gives users more flexibility and clears confusion.

Google is still testing this change

As of this writing, the unified “add to home screen” button on Google Chrome for Android is non-functional. The company might still be working on this change while testing the new layout among a small group of users. We will let you know when this update rolls out publicly.