Google Chrome redesign: How to get the new layout early
The company has made a number of sensible design tweaks, considering the size of modern handsets
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Your support makes all the difference.Google has redesigned the Chrome app, and Android users can test its new layout now.
The company has tweaked the browser’s user interface, making its core features easier to access.
The address bar has been moved from the top of the screen to the bottom, which is a sensible switch considering that’s where your thumbs naturally rest when you hold a smartphone.
With phone displays seemingly getting larger and larger by the year, making the top of the screen harder to reach, it’s likely that the bottom of your phone will be home to the address bar for the considerable future.
Google has also created the Chrome Home Expand Button, an arrow key you can tap for fast access to your favourite websites and news stories Google think you’ll be interested in.
While the brand new layout hasn’t made it to the Chrome app as an official update yet, you can try out the new features early with Chrome Canary, as spotted by Stadt Bremerhaven.
It’s an “experimental” version of the browser that offers early access to Chrome’s newest features before they actually arrive on Chrome.
However, it’s targeted mainly at developers and can be unstable.
Once you’ve downloaded it, you’ll need to type chrome://flags/#enable-chrome-home into the address bar.
This will open up a list, with Chrome Home Android and Chrome Home Expand Button Android right at the very top.
Switching both of these from Default to Enabled will prompt Chrome Canary to relaunch itself, after which you’ll be able to try out Chrome’s new user interface.
If you don’t like the new layout but want to continue using Chrome Canary, you can always switch back by repeating the steps above and switching from Enabled to Disabled.
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