Chrome 69 To Unify Google's Material Design Refresh Across All Platforms
That will all change with Chrome 69, which is expected to make its debut next month and will have the new look enabled by default. As pointed out by 9to5Google, the release notes for Chrome 69 Enterprise mention the following:
Browser interface changes
Chrome Browser will have a new design across all operating systems. Highlights include Microsoft Windows 10 notification-center integration, touchpad gesture navigation on Windows, and autofill updates.
As we've previously pointed out, the latest version of Material Design introduces a redesigned top bar complete with more rounded tabs and an updated Omnibox on the desktop. You'll also see your account profile picture to the right of the Omibox instead of just your name.
For those that want to sample the Material Design theme before it goes live in Chrome 69, you can enable right now in the public release of Chrome 68 with the following flags:
Desktop Versions of Chrome 68
- Paste chrome://flags/#top-chrome-md into the omnibox
- Find “UI Layout for the browser’s top chrome” and flip it from default to refresh
- If you're running macOS, you'll also have to additionally navigate to chrome://flags/#views-browser-windows and select enable
- Restart the browser when prompted
Chrome 68 for iOS
- Paste chrome://flags/#top-chrome-md into the omnibox
- Find “UI Refresh Phase 1” and set it to enabled
- Force close Chrome, and then restart
Chrome 68 for Android
- Paste the following commands into the omnibox
- chrome://flags/#enable-chrome-modern-design
- chrome://flags/#ntp-modern-layout
- Close the browser and reopen
In addition to the Material Design refresh, Chrome 69 brings native support for Windows 10 notifications and touchpad gestures for Windows 10. Third-party code is now blocked by default in Chrome 69 to prevent code injection and Google is increasing its crackdown on the dreaded Adobe Flash plugin. "Starting with Chrome 69, every time users restart Chrome Browser, they will have to grant permission for sites to use Flash," writes Google.
Chrome 69 is scheduled to enter the public release channel during the first week of September.
