What you need to know
- To celebrate its 15th birthday, Google is announcing a slew of changes coming to the Google Chrome app.
- The biggest difference is the Material You design language coming to the app, complete with new customization options.
- Google also introduced a complete redesign for the Chrome Web Store, complete with personalized recommendations.
It's been pretty evident as of late, but Google officially announced a redesign to the Chrome app, along with the Chrome Web Store. The announcement was made to celebrate Chrome being available for 15 years.
According to Google, Chrome users will begin receiving the latest update "in the coming weeks," bringing with it the company's Material You design language. Of course, this was first introduced with Android 12 and has completely transformed the way that you can customize the best Android phones.
Not only is there a new "Customize Chrome" panel that lets you pick and choose the colors, but these changes are also saved on a per-profile basis. So those who use Chrome with multiple profiles will be able to better differentiate which one is being used simply based on the theme. Additionally, the Chrome menu is being improved, providing "faster access to Chrome extensions, Google Translate, Google Password Manager and more."
Speaking of Chrome extensions, Google has launched the public preview of the "new Chrome Web Store." This was recently discovered offering an incredibly different interface than what we have become accustomed to over the years. You're immediately presented with different curated collections, along with various sections for recommended extensions. Surprisingly, there's even an AI-powered extensions section, a category that has exploded in popularity.
But the fun doesn't stop there, as Chrome will soon have "new capabilities that give you quicker access to information and search tools as you browse." These include a "Search this page with Google" button, which automatically opens the Search side panel, so you won't lose your place.
We haven't heard much about Google's ongoing Search Generative Experience (SGE), which aims to transform the way that you use Google. Until now, it's been in limited availability, but Google is opening it up to those in the U.S. if you want to test it out and get an idea of what the company thinks the future of search looks like.
