Google is currently testing out a new feature with its Search engine across mobile devices. The update seems to be a potential way to view auto-complete search results by scrolling upwards, while having them go away when scrolling downwards.
Let's immediately dissect the features at hand, since there isn't much introduction Google Search requires. It's more or less a staple of life for any individual with an internet connection, and is the flagship of Google's endless list of products. With that in mind, let's talk about the search bar update itself. The newest feature, as reported by Valentin Pletzer, revolves around displaying auto-complete results. Essentially, the idea seems to be that once a user selects a search result and scrolls down, the auto-complete results will disappear, only to reappear once they start rolling upwards. It's the same way the Chrome URL bar operates across mobiles.
The Search bar as well as its auto-complete results reappearing during any upwards scrolling motion seems to be sort of a damper on the overall display features of the mobile version. Something such as the Chrome URL showing up in a similar manner works due to webpages a having potentially longer display, making scrolling up cumbersome, along with the URL bar being smaller and thus taking up no reading space. On the other hand, the Google Search engine's auto-complete options are displayed 4-5 at a time, which would only serve to cover up much of the content when scrolling up.
Sure, the covered up content can easily be made viewable by scrolling downwards again, but that simply serves to add more steps to a process that worked fine in the first place. The convenience of it quickly popping up is also unnecessary, since Chrome's search results simply aren't long enough to warrant such changes. Ultimately the feature, while coming off as a spot of creative convenience on first glance, is rather wholly counterintuitive.
Then again, other users may enjoy the minor tweak to Google Search's typical features and minutiae. Which then begs the question, when will such an update be fully available? The answer to that is, perhaps it simply won't. Google's approach towards such a feature seems to be first testing it out by releasing it onto a limited batch of phones before any mass updates. The company may even declare this beta testing a failure, and ultimately decide against its addition. Ultimately, as with almost all tech features and online updates, only time will tell of its fate.
Read next: Google Enlightens the Public on How It Fights Fraudsters and Scammers on Google Maps
Let's immediately dissect the features at hand, since there isn't much introduction Google Search requires. It's more or less a staple of life for any individual with an internet connection, and is the flagship of Google's endless list of products. With that in mind, let's talk about the search bar update itself. The newest feature, as reported by Valentin Pletzer, revolves around displaying auto-complete results. Essentially, the idea seems to be that once a user selects a search result and scrolls down, the auto-complete results will disappear, only to reappear once they start rolling upwards. It's the same way the Chrome URL bar operates across mobiles.
The Search bar as well as its auto-complete results reappearing during any upwards scrolling motion seems to be sort of a damper on the overall display features of the mobile version. Something such as the Chrome URL showing up in a similar manner works due to webpages a having potentially longer display, making scrolling up cumbersome, along with the URL bar being smaller and thus taking up no reading space. On the other hand, the Google Search engine's auto-complete options are displayed 4-5 at a time, which would only serve to cover up much of the content when scrolling up.
Sure, the covered up content can easily be made viewable by scrolling downwards again, but that simply serves to add more steps to a process that worked fine in the first place. The convenience of it quickly popping up is also unnecessary, since Chrome's search results simply aren't long enough to warrant such changes. Ultimately the feature, while coming off as a spot of creative convenience on first glance, is rather wholly counterintuitive.
Then again, other users may enjoy the minor tweak to Google Search's typical features and minutiae. Which then begs the question, when will such an update be fully available? The answer to that is, perhaps it simply won't. Google's approach towards such a feature seems to be first testing it out by releasing it onto a limited batch of phones before any mass updates. The company may even declare this beta testing a failure, and ultimately decide against its addition. Ultimately, as with almost all tech features and online updates, only time will tell of its fate.
Read next: Google Enlightens the Public on How It Fights Fraudsters and Scammers on Google Maps
