Progressive web applications are web pages designed to function like native applications. They’ve been gaining momentum on the web, with Google reporting a massive 270% increase in web app installs last year. PWAs, as convenient as they are, have plenty of room to grow. One major limitation of web applications is that they do not support tabbed experience. In other words, a web application cannot open multiple pages in a single window. But this may change soon.
According to a recent update on Chrome platform status, Google is working on adding a tab bar for web app windows. The suggested tabbed mode would allow web applications to open links and pages in tabs in the same window. Currently, when you click a link in a web app, it opens in a web browser, with the web app fading into the background. This will change with the tabbed mode.
Currently, only one page can be opened in PWAs that are in a separate window at a time. Some applications expect users to open many pages at once. Tabbed mode adds a tab bar for standalone web applications that allow multiple tabs to be opened simultaneously.
A screenshot shared by a member of the Chrome team shows what the tabbed experience will look like. Note that the feature is still under development, so the user interface may not be finalized. Google also notes that it is only building this feature for the desktop at the moment. There is currently no plan to support Android.
As you can see in the screenshot, the tabs look a lot like browser tabs, except that all the tabs belong to a single web app.
Google says that users will be able to test the feature by enabling a new flag, “enable-desktop-pwas-tab-strip”. However, there is no word on when it will launch in Chrome.
source: Chrome platform statusAnd the google groups
Across: Newer Windows
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