Since Material You was introduced to the world alongside Android 12, it has crept into the user interface of scores of Android apps. Its dynamic theming capabilities only just made their way to a preview version of Chrome for desktop — the first time we saw dynamic theming outside the confines of the Android ecosystem. Turns out, Google’s plans to bring Material You elements to Chromebooks are also in motion.
The Google Play Store on Chromebooks already follows Material You design guidelines, but system-wide theming is still amiss. We saw signs of Material You coming to Chrome OS as a Chromium Gerrit flag in June, but we have heard little since. Now, Android Police alumnus Kent Duke has come forward on Reddit to give us our first look at Material You on Chrome OS.
According to Kent Duke, the UI design changes are enabled by an internal Chrome OS flag called Jelly in a recent Canary channel update. Enabling this flag switches on dynamic theming for various SystemUI components in the operating system, though it looks like it still requires some effort and isn't anything you can easily pull off on your own machine right now. It's also clear it's still early days. The themed UI looks like a weird cross between Windows 11, Chrome OS, and Android 12/13.
Kent Duke notes that the UI has plenty of placeholder text, weird padding issues, and gray squares, among other telltale signs of a work-in-progress build. Although Material You’s materialization as a Canary flag is progress, it could take a while before we see any of these design changes in the stable channel.
In the interim, we suggest you pick up one of our favorite Chromebooks this Black Friday, so you’re fully kitted out to enjoy the Material You goodness when it lands.
Thanks: Nick