Google Chrome begins rolling out Material You redesign to users; Know what is changing

Google Chrome turned 15 last month, and to commemorate the occasion, Google announced that the web browser will receive a makeover. The makeover would include “a fresh look and new features”, the company stated. As per the redesign, Chrome will be adopting the Material You theme that Google first introduced in Android. This means more rounded corners, refreshed icons, and the removal of the lock icon from the address bar. This will also mark the first redesign for the browser in 5 years, with its last makeover coming in 2018 when it shifted to Google Material Theme.

Announcing the new redesign, Google stated in its blog post, “In the coming weeks, Chrome will get a new look on desktop. Based on our Material You design language, we’ve refreshed Chrome’s icons with a focus on legibility and created new color palettes that better complement your tabs and toolbar. These new themes and distinct colors can help you distinguish between profiles, like your work and personal accounts, at a glance. We’ve also better integrated with operating systems so your Chrome preferences can easily adapt to OS-level settings, like dark and light modes”.

Google Chrome gets a redesign

It should be noted that even though it is a redesign, the layout and the broader appearance of Google Chrome are still the same, so it will not feel like a new browser. However, what you will notice is a drop-down menu on the extreme left that shows all the open tabs as well as the ones recently closed. The appearance of horizontal tabs on the top of the window has also changed. They now appear as small pills when you hover the cursor over them, and the separation between tabs is just a white line.

You will notice that icons and overall appearance have more rounded corners, and the browser feels to be taller. One big change is that the Omnibox (address bar and search field) now does not show a lock icon indicative of the https security. Google earlier said that since the majority of websites support https today, it is a redundant icon. It has been replaced with a settings icon that shows menu options for connection security, page permissions, cookies, and site data.

Outline-styled icons with hollowed insides are another addition you will get to see. You also get Material You color palettes that bring some really bright and pastel-like options for you to choose from.

Your bookmarks, reading lists, a history can also be quickly accessed through the side panel icon next to your profile icon. The history here is arranged categorically instead of chronologically, meaning you can see all the pages opened on a particular keyword. This makes it easier to both look up pages and delete history around a topic.

The rollout has already begun, and if you haven’t received it yet, you should in the next few days.