Google Chrome is getting a big design upgrade for Windows 11, macOS, and other platforms termed “Chrome Refresh 2023.” Chrome Refresh 2023, which was previously concealed by experimental flags, is now flowing out to Canary testers via “Google Labs,” a new approach to test impending features.
So what exactly is Chrome Refresh 2023?
Google Chrome is evolving, according to the company. However, Google developers and internal flags refer to the new look as a “refresh” because it is not a major makeover of Chrome. Because the interface remains constant, your favorite features will not be relocated.
Chrome’s redesign aligns all existing design elements with Google’s Material design. You should not be concerned about Chrome’s UI modifications; the browser remains unchanged, and nothing has changed significantly. The traditional Google interface has been kept, but there are larger right-click menus, additional colors, and a subtle dark theme. And, yeah, practically everything has rounded corners. When you right-click anywhere in the browser, you will see that the context menus have been updated with rounded corners and increased padding to accommodate touch-screen devices. Chrome’s visual effects are now more visible than ever, particularly when hovering over tabs. Speaking about aesthetic impacts, the toolbar now has several icons.
It is evident that the search engine behemoth wants to brighten up the browser, so these modifications, together with Chrome’s new customization colors, should result in a more visually pleasing experience. Google acknowledged that users may experiment with new colors, themes, and settings in real-time. Google is improving the browser’s responsiveness to touch displays, and the address bar has become thicker. The profile menu has also been brightened up.
Chrome refresh also restores icons to the main menu, with icons next to all options such as a new tab, new window, new password manager, extensions, settings, and more.
How to enable Chrome 2023 design refresh
Chrome Refresh is now available through Google Labs, so install Chrome Canary and navigate to the Labs icon. Finally, enable the toggle and restart the browser to view the new appearance.
If you do not see it under Labs but still want to experiment with the modifications, take these steps:
1. In Chrome Canary, open chrome://flags (experimental flags menu).
2. Search “refresh 2023” and enable two flags – #chrome-refresh-2023 and #chrome-webui-refresh-2023. It is worth noting that chrome://flags/#chrome-webui-refresh-
2023 needs to be enabled manually, even if you have access to Labs.
3. Restart the browser.
If you finish the procedures correctly, you will be able to access a refreshed Chrome experience.
Google is also experimenting with other address bar style modifications, but it is unclear when those changes will be tested.
We do not know when Google expects to make the modifications available to everyone, but it should happen in the next month.
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