What happened to the Remote Devices panel?
google-chrome-devtools
Solution
Source code is the best documentation, so one way to find out is to go looking for this string: https://cs.chromium.org/search/?q=%22this+panel+has+been+deprecated+in+favor+of+the%22&sq=package:chromium&type=cs
When you look at the history of file `/src/third_party/devtools-frontend/src/front_end/devices/DevicesView.js`, there is this recent commit `6239c24: "Remove "Remote Devices" panel"`: https://chromium-review.googlesource.com/c/devtools/devtools-frontend/+/1909383
with the following document attached: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14qasCOYYELcWtAp-y6N147Mvjv7eWmRsx1hFCB2M6w8/edit
DevTools has the "Remote Devices" tab which allows you to inspect devices like smartphones via technology like ADB. This functionality implements a subset of the features in `chrome://inspect/#devices`. To remove duplication and confusion for developers ("Which of the two tools should I use?", "Why does this panel not have all features? Oh I should have used the other one", and for devrel folks writing articles: "Which tool should I reference in my guide"?), we should remove the "Remote Devices" panel.
So maybe not what you expected, but it seems there's nothing more to it. Every rewrite has its lost features.
Problem
I'm running Chrome 80 and while getting ready for mobile debugging I observe the following: The panel has been migrated to its own tab and its functionality has changed. I checked the changelog but there is no mention of this change. One of the features removed with this change was a way to import the device dimensions and properties into the Emulated Devices panel. Is there any place to read up on this change and its reasoning? Even if it's a pull request I'd be happy.