Google to add a new Notification Center to Chrome, paving the way for Google Now integration
Chromium, the open source web browser project that shares much of the same code and features as Google Chrome, has been updated for Windows to include a new notification center.
Context & Ripple Effects
Google had already signaled that Google Now services were headed from Android to Chrome. The Windows Chromium change supplies a browser-level place for those updates to appear, turning that plan into an interface question rather than only a services question.
First-order effects
- Windows Chromium users gain a centralized place for browser notifications, while Google gains the UI foundation needed to bring Google Now into Chrome.
- Google Now can be designed for a desktop browser surface instead of being confined to its Android presentation.
Second-order effects
- Chrome becomes a more direct channel for Google to place service updates in front of Windows users, increasing the importance of the browser shell in Google's cross-device experience.
Third-order effects
- If Google extends the same notification surface across Chrome environments, browsers may increasingly act as assistant work surfaces that aggregate timely service information rather than merely display webpages.
The trend: Google is moving Google Now toward a cross-device assistant model in which Chrome provides the desktop-facing delivery surface.