Believe it or not, it’s been fifteen years since Chrome exploded on the scene to begin its path towards total web dominance. Of course, in the wild world of broswers, innovation and evolution are keys to getting people to use your products. A couple of years after Material You first emerged as Google’s prefered aesthetic, the company is announcing it’s finally bringing dynamic themes to Chrome on desktop.
As detailed onGoogle’s Keyword blog, Chrome is commemorating its 15th birthday this month by introducing a refreshed look on desktop, all aimed at delivering a more personalized browsing experience. We’ve seen hints of this change coming for nearly a year now,dating back to November of last year, but Material You is finally making its highly-anticipated debut on stable Chrome builds.
As we highlighted whenChrome 117 hit the beta channel, this design initiative enhances Chrome’s icons, focusing on clarity and introducing new color palettes that harmonize with tabs and toolbars. Notably, these themes and distinct hues facilitate effortless differentiation between profiles, like work and personal. There’s also a commendable effort to integrate Chrome preferences with OS-level settings, such as dark and light modes. Users can expect a more streamlined menu for quicker access to Chrome extensions, Google Translate, Google Password Manager, and other features.
Material You alsocasts its modern design spell on the Chrome Web Store. While a detailed exploration of this redesign deserves its own spotlight, it’s worth noting that the new look aims to enhance discoverability of extensions. The new interface is set to feature categories like AI-powered extensions, accompanied by more personalized recommendations.
Chrome’s commitment to security is evident in its expanded Safety Check for extensions, aiming to identify those that violate policies or are potentially malicious. Furthermore, browsing is set to become more intuitive with new search features, such as the Google Search side panel, offering related searches and insights about page sources.
Of course, Google has taken its sweet time bringing this new look to desktop users. The company began testing outMaterial You on its Android browser as early as May of 2021, months before Android 12 and its new dynamic theme support even landed. Chrome on desktop is well overdue for this sort of attention, and it’s great to see it finally rolling out to users in the coming weeks.
