Skip to main content

Goodbye, copy/paste? Google tests ‘Copyless Paste’ in Chrome for Android

google job widget update chrome android app os
The humble copy/paste is a staple of modern technology (and essay-writing), but Google could be looking to cut out 50 percent of those steps. The company is testing a so-called “Copyless Paste” on Android, which allows users to paste text without having to copy it first.

But how does the phone know what to copy? Well, chances are your phone won’t totally cut out copy just yet — but it could intelligently figure out what you might want to copy, even in different apps.

Related Videos

“If you looked at a restaurant website and switched to the Maps app, the keyboard would offer the name of that restaurant as a suggestion to enter into the search bar,” says the code’s description in the Chrome for Android Canary build. Unfortunately, while there’s a flag in the Chrome Canary build, it doesn’t seem as though the feature properly works just yet.

In other words, the feature largely works based on context — which makes sense. A report from XDA-Developers notes that despite numerous attempts to visit restaurant websites, suggestions based on that have yet to pop up.

Copyless Paste was first reported on in March, though at the time the full extent of the feature was unknown. According to a report from VentureBeat, it appears as though Google first started working on the feature in February. It’s likely that Google will deploy the feature to Chrome 60 for Android, which will be launched at some point in the next few months.

The feature does have some restrictions. For example, it’s designed not to work if you’re using Incognito Mode on Chrome for Android. It also does not seem as though lower-end Android phones can currently take advantage of the feature.

It’s also possible that Copyless Paste will show up more widely in Android O once it’s officially released — Android in generally has continued to get more and more contextually aware, and that’s likely to continue.

Editors' Recommendations

You aren’t ready for this Galaxy S23 vs. iPhone 14 Pro camera test
Deep purple iPhone 14 Pro and Cream Galaxy S23 crossed over

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 is here, and it's quickly become one of the best phones you can buy in 2023. For $800, you’re getting a small but mighty phone with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy chipset, long-lasting battery life, and a powerful triple lens camera system with a 50-megapixel main shooter.

But how does one of the best Android phones stack up against Apple’s smallest flagship, the iPhone 14 Pro? It has just as many cameras as the Galaxy S23, a powerful 48MP main camera, and costs $200 more than Samsung's handset.

Read more
Nothing Phone 2: news, release date and price rumors, and more
Nothing Phone 1 with Glyph lights active.

The Nothing Phone 1 made its debut in July 2022, and it had a reasonable amount of hype behind it due to the involvement of Carl Pei, a co-founder of OnePlus. It was a quirky phone due to the unique light show on the back that makes it stand out from the competition, but on the software front, it’s very similar to other Android phones out there. It received mixed reviews, though the consensus leaned more on the positive side.

This year, we’re expecting the Nothing Phone 2, as confirmed by Pei in January during MWC 2023. Here’s everything we know so far about the Nothing Phone 2!
Nothing Phone 2: design

Read more
What is Amazon Music: everything you need to know
Amazon Music

It's a jungle of music streaming platforms out there, so it stands to reason that Amazon would have one among its massive kingdom of services. And while Amazon Music might not be top of mind among the Spotifys and Apple Musics of the world, you might be surprised by its 100-million-song library, high-resolution and spatial audio offerings, podcast library, Alexa voice control, and a pretty amiable user interface that makes finding music pretty easy.

Amazon Music's subscriptions range from free to its premium Music Unlimited tier, which can be added for $9 per month on top of a subscription to Amazon Prime. But they all come with some quirks and features. We're going to break them all down for you to help you choose which, if any, Amazon Music plan is right for you.

Read more