What you need to know
- Google Chrome receives a redesigned tab interface for Android devices and tablets.
- The inactive tabs are separated by a vertical line while the active tab takes advantage of the “Matter You” theme.
- The changes were found in the latest stable Chrome 112 but required two flags to appear.
Foldable phones and tablets often get separate app tweaks due to their unique screens, and more of those improvements are coming to Google’s web browser.
Android Police found an interface redesign for Chrome on Android phones and tablets. Discovery, in version 112, shows newly revamped tabs, which seem to abandon the previous folder-like design. The active tab now receives a distinct background, which appears to match the URL bar. The active tab itself also shows rounded corners, which is pretty standard across Google’s new design language.
Meanwhile, the inactive tabs also appear to somewhat blend with the background and are separated by a line instead of overlapping them like they did before.
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It also found that if you have more active tabs than your screen can show, the tab bar can scroll horizontally, with the tab row items adopting some of the material you’re using.
As mentioned earlier, the changes were spotted in Chrome’s latest stable build 112. However, some other ideas have found that the changes are likely to be server-side and require a few flags necessary to show them. the chrome://flags / #enable-tab-strip-redesign Switch flag in redesign, f chrome://flags/ #enable-tab-strip-improvements Science was required to help it function properly. Users may start to see changes soon, as they become more widespread as the week goes on.
Changes to foldables and tablets are always welcome, but these particular changes arrive just as leaks of the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet continue, both of which may be revealed at Google I/O 2023 event on May 10th. You’ll likely talk at length about the incremental improvements you’re making to Android, apps, and large-screen devices.