Between the grid view and tab groups options, this is one of the most exciting updates for Chrome on Android in some time.
As is usually the case with Chrome updates for Android, it’s rolling out through a server-side update. That means it might take a bit of time before it’s available on your phone. Just be patient, and it’ll be here before you know it.
Google Chrome’s New Grid View and Tab Groups Feature
Rather than the cumbersome vertical list of tabs that Chrome used to have, you’ll now get a cleaner grid view, which is a bit easier to navigate if you have a lot of tabs open. For iOS users, a similar layout has been available for some time, so it’s nice to see Google rolling it out for Android users as well.
With this view, you can see more of each tab, and there are six of them on the screen at a time. If you have tons of tabs open, this should make it easier to flip through them and find the tabs you want to keep open. Of course, it is a fairly drastic change, so it may take some time to get used to the new layout.
Tab groups are similar to the feature offered on the desktop version of Chrome since last year. It makes it much easier to organize your tabs, which is perfect for tab hoarders. Additionally, the update gives you a shortcut that’ll let you jump between tabs in the same group through a menu.
Using the feature is easy. You just need to drag your tabs onto one another. It’s simple enough to use, and it definitely feels intuitive.
If you don’t want to wait for the feature to roll out, you can enable it by typing chrome://flags into the address bar. From there, enable the Tab Grid Layout, Tab Groups, Tab Groups Continuation, and Tab Groups UI Improvements options. Restart Chrome, and the new features should be up and running.
How to Turn Tab Groupings Off
If you’re not a fan of the new Tab Groups feature, you can quickly and easily turn it off. All you need to do is enter chrome://flags/#enable-tab-grid-layout into the address bar. From there, select Disabled. Relaunch Chrome, and the old tab layout will be up and running again.
