Google Chrome is one of the most popular web browsers right now across multiple operating systems. To keep things ship-shape, it sees a regular stream of updates. Some of these changes may go unnoticed, but it's hard to miss tweaks to the new tab page (NTP) on desktop. Google is now testing a new layout for the shortcuts on Chrome Canary’s NTP.

Updates usually start in the Chrome Canary channel intended for developers, then make their way to the Beta release, before finally landing in the stable channel. Currently, Chrome 114 in Canary is testing a new flag that combines two rows of shortcuts on the new tab page into one. In our testing, we found the flag is enabled by default for Canary users. Interestingly, this design change is unaffected by the flag controlling Chrome’s grand 2023 visual refresh.

Google Chrome Stable with two rows of NTP shortcuts (left); Canary with the flag enabled (right)

If you have the desktop build of Chrome Canary 114 installed, you can confirm if it enabled the below flag, and take a look at the new NTP interface. Note that the number of shortcuts you can create remains unaffected by this change.

chrome://flags/#ntp-single-row-shortcuts

The single-row arrangement for the shortcuts may be more than just a visual tweak. A quick glance at other NTP flags like #ntp-chrome-cart-module reveals Google has plans to make the space below your shortcuts more useful. We can liken this to the Android app's NTP interface where shortcuts take up one horizontally scrolling carousel, and most of the screen can be used for other content like the Discover feed.

Behavior change with the latest Canary update

When we first spotted this change in Chrome, the full row of shortcuts was only visible when the browser window was maximized. If reduced in width, the shortcuts to the right got trimmed out of view. In retrospect, it could have been a bug because Chrome Canary v115.0.5740.0 fixes this. When you change the window width now, the shortcuts dynamically drop into lower rows, occupying four when the window is the narrowest. We wonder how other NTP features like Chrome Cart would function when the window is narrower, but perhaps that's a niche use case Google is still figuring out. The company could take a different approach when the change makes it to a stable version. Thankfully, though, even this change doesn't affect the total number of shortcuts you can add to the NTP.

Chrome-Canary-Shortcuts-dynamic-population-anim

Although the flag for the new shortcuts layout is separate from the 2023 visual refresh flag, we suspect the changes could roll out together in the stable channel. Combining this with changes like the new Omnibox design, icon spacing, overflow menu design, and shortcuts layout would make for a distinctly unique look compared to what we see on Chrome 112.

UPDATE: 2023/05/01 08:38 EST BY CHANDRAVEER MATHUR

New behavior spotted on Canary v115.0.5740.0

We noticed the single row of shortcuts change in appearance when resizing the browser window width on Windows. The article has been updated to reflect this change