User Interface Content State Synchronization Across Devices

An application system for synchronizing a user interface (UI) state of content of a pair of applications, the application system comprising a host application and a client application, the application system comprising:

• a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising memory with instructions encoded thereon;
• and
• one or more processors that, when executing the instructions, are caused to perform operations comprising:
• run the client application operated by a user;
• and
• run the host application operated by the user to navigate a digital resource, the host application configured to:
• receive an event at the host application;
• synchronize the UI state of content of the host application by:
• determining content data that is related to at least a portion of the UI state of content displayed by the host application,
• identifying the client application, which corresponds to the host application, and
• communicating, to the client application, the content data that is related to the at least the portion of UI state of the content of the host application, to show a distinct but synchronized UI to support continuing operation of the host application at the client application;
• wherein the client application is configured to display a UI state of content of the client application, based on the related content data of the at least the portion of the UI state of the content of the host application, and wherein the client application processes encoded content of the digital resource to display a decoded graphical user interface image synchronized with the UI state of the host,
• wherein the application system, in a first state that is independent of a UI update to the client application, processes a first host user input from the user, updates a host UI, and maintains synchronization of the UI state of the content of the client application despite the update to the host UI, and
• wherein the application system, in a second state, executes UI synchronization with the client application in response to a second host user input from the user that causes one or more host UI updates and a change of the UI state of the content of the client application, wherein the client application processes encoded content of the digital resource to update a decoded graphical user interface image, and wherein the second host user input comprises a navigation operation for the digital resource.