Remote server loading ability discovered on Chrome for Android

Google is exploring the option of routing web requests through a remote server in order to speed up loading times

Omar Qudsi, Published 03/02/2013

Chrome for Android was released by Google early last year and the browser was well received thanks to its ability to synchronize surfing across devices. Google also unveiled an iOS version shortly thereafter, and they may now be exploring options to increase surfing speed on the application.

For years now, Opera has routed mobile web requests through their remote servers, optimizing the time it takes to load web page by compressing certain data. This feature is currently available on Opera Turbo, and more recently Amazon adopted something similar with their Kindle Fire lineup and the Silk browser.

Now, according to developer Francois Beaufort, Google is experimenting with reducing data consumption by loading optimized web pages through their SPDY proxy servers. The feature is still in development, and was discovered through the Chromium source code, but users can enable it on their Android device using the Android SDK. It will have to be seen whether the remote loading noticeably affects browsing times, but if it does, we can likely expect an official update soon.