Earlier this week, Google quietly launched an updated interface for Chrome on Android, displaying open tabs in a grid instead of stacked cards. In addition to this aesthetic change, however, the update also includes groups of tabs, one of the most flexible and powerful features of Chrome for the desktop. See what guide groups can do and how you can enable or disable this new feature. First, the new layout has been enabled by default on many devices, especially Pixels. If you’re on the latest version of Chrome, but still see your tabs arranged as overlapping cards, you can go to chrome: // flags / # enable-tab-grid-layout and enable it manually. So, after restarting Chrome (twice), the change should remain. On the other hand, if you really like the old layout, you can do the reverse and disable the option manually.
Technically, the feature has been around since the middle of last year, but only now have guide groups escaped the realm of beta and officially joined the conventional feature set.
Links opened in the background are automatically grouped to keep your browser organized
Once you have tab groups enabled and running, you can test them by dragging and dropping all tabs to group them. Each tab group will display how many tabs are affiliated with it, and tapping it will expand the group to display its tabs, similar to application folders on the home screen.
Even without dragging and dropping manually, Chrome automatically groups tabs when you press a link and open it in a new tab. That way, all pages open in the background will be instantly grouped with the tab you’re currently on. This is especially useful for things like comparing different products when shopping online.
When you view a tab that is in a group, Chrome also displays a flexible strip at the bottom with an icon for each page in that group, so you can easily switch between different tabs in the same group. Again, great for comparing information from multiple tabs or multitasking.
How tab groups appear in the new Chrome for Android layout
In general, it is a fairly faithful execution of the desktop feature, but there are a number of significant differences. The desktop version allows you to rename your groups of tabs and assign one of the eight colors to distinguish it easily. On the other hand, the mobile version doesn’t have that, but it allows you to instantly see how many tabs are in a group – something that the desktop browser doesn’t show.
Are you excited to see this new feature come to Android? Or will you stick with the old layout?