A new version of Google Chrome for Android has emerged that introduces support for browser extensions. This feature has been long-awaited, as Chrome has been a popular web browser on Android, but lacked the power that comes with extension support, often found in competing browsers.
At this stage, the extension functionality is fairly basic, but Google is actively improving it. This special version of Chrome is designed primarily for desktop users, specifically targeted at Chromebooks and PCs that run Android.
It is not intended for standard mobile devices or tablets, which explains its classification as “desktop” builds. This initiative coincides with Google’s plans to transition Chrome OS to an Android base, thus necessitating a version of Chrome that maintains matching features across platforms.
While Google has not made these “desktop” builds available on the Play Store, users can still download them from Google’s development servers. Recently, a code change allowed for the manual installation of extensions by downloading .crx files and transferring them into the designated extensions management page of Chrome.
During my testing of this build, I successfully installed popular extensions like Dark Reader, Keepa, and uBlock Origin, which all operated immediately upon installation. However, the new setup does come with challenges.
While some extensions work seamlessly, others face functionality issues due to the lack of support for extension options pages and toolbar access. The current method of manually handling .crx files is cumbersome, and there is hope that Google will enable easier access through the Chrome Web Store in the future.
Currently, there are no plans for Google to extend this extension support to regular mobile versions of Chrome, leaving users to explore alternative browsers if they wish to utilize extensions on Android. It remains to be seen if Google will reconsider its stance and broaden support for all Chrome users on mobile.
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