Chrome for Android finally gets a built-in PDF viewer

Chrome for Android now has a built-in PDF viewer with annotation tools and search, removing the need for third-party apps. The post Chrome for Android finally gets a built-in PDF viewer appeared first on Phandroid.

Apr 28, 2025 - 09:20

Chrome for Android finally gets a built-in PDF viewer

It’s about time. Google’s Chrome browser for Android is finally getting a native PDF viewer — no more getting kicked over to another app just to open a file.

Until now, if you tried opening a PDF directly from Chrome, you’d get that annoying “Open with” pop-up, forcing you to use something like Google Drive or a third-party app. Now, Chrome just opens the PDF inside the browser, the way it always should have.

This feature has been a long time coming. It first popped up behind hidden flags in early 2024, but it wasn’t actually working. It wasn’t until December that things started to move, and even then, it stayed tucked away behind experimental settings. It’s finally rolling out properly — at least if you’re on Android 15.

The built-in PDF reader doesn’t just open files either. There’s an annotation tool you can access by tapping a pencil icon. You’ll get options for a pen, highlighter, eraser, undo/redo, and even a button that lets you just scroll normally without drawing everywhere. You can pick different colors and line widths, and you can move the toolbar around if it gets in the way.

There’s also a built-in search function, so you can quickly find text inside the PDF without needing to use another app.

Right now, it seems the feature is rolling out first to Android 15 devices, but earlier reports suggest it should eventually work on devices running Android 12 and up. Wider availability will probably become clearer once Google fully flips the switch.

The post Chrome for Android finally gets a built-in PDF viewer appeared first on Phandroid.