Hands-on with the new tab synchronization feature in Chrome 19

Google has rolled out a new release of Chrome in the stable channel. The update, version 19, uses the Chrome synchronization framework to introduce support for sharing open tabs between instances of the browser. The update also brings a number of security fixes and other minor improvements.

Google first lifted the curtain on its plans for browser synchronization in 2009. The feature was implemented on top of the XMPP protocol, enabling real-time propagation of synchronized data. Chrome presently supports synchronizing form autofill data, passwords, autocompletion history, extensions, and settings. The new version expands the lineup by adding support for tabs.

The tab support is implemented differently than some of the other synchronization features. Instead of trying to keep the same set of tabs open and active across all instances, Chrome instead provides a convenient menu for launching tabs that are open in other instances of the browser. This behavior is similar to how tab synchronization is implemented in Firefox. The menu for accessing remote tabs, which is titled Other Devices, is integrated into the browser’s new tab page next to the recently closed tab menu.

When the menu is clicked, it will show a list of available tabs grouped by device. When an item in the menu is clicked, it will open in a new tab within the local instance of Chrome. The menu will also show you how much time has elapsed since updating the tab information from a specific device.

We tested the synchronization feature on several computers, including a Windows desktop computer, a Windows netbook, and a MacBook Air. It worked consistently and predictably across those platforms. We also attempted to test it on a Samsung Chromebook that is running the latest Aura environment from the developer channel, but the Other Devices menu wasn't available in that build. During our tests, we found that the tab data propagated very quickly between instances of the browser.

When you quit Chrome on a given device, the tabs that were open at the time the browser was terminated will remain accessible in the remote tab list. This tab persistence feature is useful in many situations where a user might want to take advantage of tab synchronization. If you are surfing the Web at the office and suspend your computer when you leave for the day, for example, you will be able to pick up your session when you get home.

One limitation we encountered with tab persistence is that it doesn't work right on Windows in some cases. If the user only has a single browser window open and quits Chrome by closing that window, the tabs in that window get dropped from the menu. Windows users can work around that limitation by remembering to quit the browser from the wrench menu or keyboard shortcut instead of closing the window. It’s possible that this issue was a simple oversight that will be corrected in future versions.

The tab synchronization feature is designed to be compatible with the Chrome for Android beta. Unfortunately, Chrome for Android is currently only available on devices that run Android 4, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich. Google doesn't presently offer browser sync support for older versions of Android and doesn’t provide an official client application for accessing the relevant information.

Our only complaint with Google’s otherwise excellent tab sync implementation is that there doesn't appear to be a way to get your tab list outside of Chrome. As far as we can tell, Google doesn't provide a Web interface for accessing your open tabs from other browsers. Such a feature would be really useful, especially on mobile devices that can’t run Chrome.