Google is officially confirming the rollout of several Chrome features that we’ve previously only seen in leaks and rumors. After finally giving us vertical tabs with its last update, Chrome is now officially gaining split view support, PDF annotations right on the web, and an option to have downloaded PDFs saved directly to Google Drive!
Enjoy Chrome’s native split view
Several modern browsers, like Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, Arc, and more, have offered native split-screen functionality for a while now. Chrome users, on the other hand, are just joining the party.
Early leaks about Chrome’s split view first started emerging early in 2025. Roughly a year later, going split screen is as easy as simply right-clicking a tab and selecting split view.
One teacher told us they use split view to more easily grade papers in the classroom, others love using it to take notes on YouTube videos, and developers are even using it to reference documentation while they code.
PDF annotations on the web
Although Google Chrome allows users to view PDFs on the web, up until now, users have been forced to download PDFs to be able to annotate them. That changes starting now.
When you open a PDF document on Chrome, you’ll now see a scribble icon in the top-aligned toolbar. This allows you to access a pen and a highlighter with several different stroke sizes and colors. There’s also an eraser for quick deletion.
Yes, the implementation is barebones at best, but it is enough for a quick markup and minor edits.
Save PDFs directly to Google Drive
When you download a PDF via Chrome, the browser gives you the option to choose where said PDF will be saved. Once downloaded to your computer, you then have the option to upload said PDF to Google Drive to keep it safe.
With what Chrome is rolling out now, that middle step of uploading the PDF to Drive is essentially being eliminated. Via a new button that appears next to the download button, users now have the option to save PDFs directly to Drive.
PDF annotations and split view functionality is live for me with Chrome 144. The option to save PDFs directly to Drive isn’t live for me yet.
