The next major version of Google Chrome will display an install button when a Progressive Web App (PWA) is available. The firm expects this change to drive further adoption of this web-based app platform.

“In Chrome 76, we’re making it easier for users to install Progressive Web Apps on the desktop by adding an install button to the address bar (omnibox),” Google’s Pete LePage explains. “If a site meets the Progressive Web App installability criteria, Chrome will automatically show an install icon in the address bar. Clicking the button prompts the user to install the PWA.”

Today, Chrome indicates the availability of a PWA subtly or not at all, depending on the site, so this is a welcome change.

The first beta of Chrome 76 is due in mid-June 2019, so any day now. And then the new browser version will ship to everyone at the end of July. I also expect the Chromium-based version of Microsoft Edge to pick up this functionality as well.