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Flag emoji have been with us for nearly as long as we’ve had emoji on our cell phones. Originally, there were only 10 flags to choose from, a far cry from the bounty of flags available to us today — everything from Andorra to Zimbabwe. But all good things must come to an and, and it appears that the all-you-can-wave flag buffet will soon be closed.
Google Chrome is working on combining tab groups and bookmarks, and we don't like it one bit
Google, what have you done to my bookmark bar?
Chrome 95 rolled out a while ago with tons of changes in tow for Android, but it looks like there are a few interesting experiments coming to the desktop version, too. As we long knew, Google has been working on making bookmarks and tab groups work better together, and we can see the first fruits of this work behind a flag. However, the current in-development solution is anything but great for those of us who just want bookmark folders to keep working the way they work now.
We now know who to thank for bringing back an RSS reader to Google's roundhouse. The Web Feed feature that has been hanging behind a flag in the Chrome web browser for several months has officially gone public.
Chrome might be borrowing yet another feature from Microsoft Edge
The browser could soon show you contextual info on the site you're visiting
Have you ever browsed around a site and wondered, "what's the deal with this place?" According to a couple of tweaks to Chrome Canary, it looks like the browser will soon be able to answer that question with a quick click. It's a feature that was spotted in canary builds of Microsoft Edge recently, also based on the Chromium project.
Our favorite Chrome OS 93 flags you should try on your Chromebook
Some of these flags also carry over to the browser on other platforms
Chrome OS 93 arrived for Chromebooks on Tuesday of last week, and it's packed with quality-of-life polish to help you enjoy your Chromebook even more. There are several additional features and tweaks that are not yet part of the default experience — including four that we detailed earlier this week. That's because they're still in development and need further refinement before being made available for millions of Chromebook users around the globe. Google has hidden these work-in-progress Chrome OS features behind a page in the Chrome browser, where you can set "flags" to toggle them on and off at will. Just take your time and be wise enough not to enable them at random — the wrong one could render your device unusable.
Chrome gets even more colorful with its big Material You revamp
A recent Canary update for Chrome on Android adds dynamic color theming everywhere
Google announced Material You at this year's I/O conference, and this post-Material Design chapter looks like it's arguably the company's most ambitious move yet. Material You is all about embracing emotion and expression, using humanistic principles like soft shapes and dynamic color theming that adapt to your wallpaper. We've seen Google's radical new design language trickle down to its apps over the last few months — one of them is Chrome, which saw a sprinkle of color extraction when we covered it last month. Now it looks like Google is going all in with Chrome's Material You makeover.
Our favorite Chrome OS 92 flags you should try on your Chromebook
Some of these flags carry over to the browser on other platforms
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Chrome OS 92 arrived to Chromebooks on Monday this week following a week of delay, and it's packed with a ton of helpful features to supercharge your ability to communicate on Chrome OS. There are several additional features and tweaks that are not yet part of the default experience — a few we detailed earlier this week. That's because they're still in development and need polishing before being made available for millions of Chromebook users around the globe. Google has hidden these work-in-progress Chrome OS features, or "flags," behind a page in the Chrome browser, and you'd be wise not to enable them at random — the wrong one could render your device unusable.
Chrome for Android is testing a radical shift in its Google Search interface
All we asked for was proper bottom bar navigation
Google may have shelved one of the most anticipated Chrome features — Duet — but the company is still working on changing up little bits and pieces to make it easier to navigate the mobile browser. One of the latest experiments has been spotted by 9to5Google, which reports that a new flag moves Google Search into a carousel below the address bar, giving you quick access to other results.
Get a glimpse of Chrome's Material You theme on Android 12
The latest Chrome Canary release is prepping rudimentary support for Monet theming
Google has introduced a new take on Material Design during Google I/O this year, Material You. Its highlighting characteristic is its wallpaper-based dynamic colors, making for beautifully composed interfaces. So far, only a handful of apps have been updated to support these themes, but it looks like Google is hard at work updating its first-party applications to take advantage of the new theming mechanisms. Among them is Chrome, which has just received the first few wallpaper-based elements in the latest under-development version, Chrome Canary v93.
Chrome for Android is getting a customizable shortcut in the address bar
All we wanted was a bottom bar, but m'kay
Google is always experimenting with the Chrome interface, though a lot of these tests just end up being cancelled — looking at you, Chrome Duet. While the bottom navigation interface is probably gone for good for now, the company continues testing other novelties, and the latest change to hit the toolbar is a customizable shortcut between the address bar and the tab switcher.
Three hidden Chrome OS 91 features you should enable right now
Quality of life improvements to your Chromebook
It's been a few days since Chrome OS 91 landed on Chromebooks, which introduced helpful features like Nearby Share and a competent media player. Following its release, we've been digging into the new update and uncovering even more that could improve your Chromebook experience. Here are three experimental but helpful features we've found that you can try right now.
Google Chrome for Android is on the warpath with dropdowns
An experiment moves more autofill suggestions to the strip on top of your keyboard
Drop down menus have been a part of graphical computer interfaces since the beginning, but they aren't particularly easy to interact with on touchscreens. Google is working on getting rid of them with a few measures on Android, such as moving the password autofill dropdown to a bar on top of Gboard. But it looks like the company also wants to further reduce the number of dropdowns you come across when you surf the web in Chrome.
Google is testing a simplified menu for sharing in Chrome
The new sharing hub combines QR codes, casting, and more
Chrome makes syncing and sharing tabs between devices easy. Sending a link from your laptop to your phone only takes a couple of seconds if you're logged in, while QR codes allow for transferring sites with a snap of a photo. Although these various methods keep passing websites simple, they all clutter up your Omnibox any time you click on it. Google is testing a new sharing hub for Chrome that simplifies your browser, making it easier to hand off articles, projects, and more between devices.
Google Chrome's upcoming Memories feature will supercharge your browser history
Prioritizing open tab and bookmarks over chronological results
Searching for websites you know you've saved or seen somewhere in Chrome can be a bit of a hassle despite the handy history overview, accessible via the overflow menu in the top right corner of the interface. When you search through it, it only gives you a chronological view of all the sites you've ever visited, without taking into account if a page is currently opened in a tab or saved as a bookmark. An upcoming feature is supposed to change that. It's called Memories and takes all these factors into account when you use it to search through your browsing history.
Google is slowly phasing out its older voice recognition technology in favor of the Assistant, and the latest Android app to benefit from the transition is Chrome — which is great news for multilingual users. A long-available flag has finally become functional, allowing you to retire the old voice search interface in favor of a snazzy Assistant look.
Surf the web more securely on Chrome for Android by activating Enhanced Safe Browsing
The feature is currently rolling out to everyone, but you can speed up the process
Google is already pouring tons of resources into helping us stay safe while we surf the web with measures like Safe Browsing for Chrome, and the company only recently introduced an enhanced version of this tool. It's widely available on desktops already, but it's only slowly rolling out on Android. If you want to get your hands on Enhanced Safe Browsing right away, there are two flags that will bring it to you.
Google has been working on a bottom bar interface for Chrome for what feels like forever and keeps changing the layout. Initially, the browser had its complete app bar moved to the bottom, while recent implementation left the bare address bar up top and put all buttons (new tab/tab switcher, home, share, overflow menu) in the new location. The latest iteration of the design, accessible on Chrome Beta and Dev, reduces the number of shortcuts on the bottom from five to three, and people aren't happy about it.
After a short rollout delay, Chrome 79 is now widely available on desktop and mobile platforms. That means Chrome 80 has moved up to the beta channel, and while there are a few new features, there are far more removed features. Let's dive right in!
Google recently added a 'global media controls' flag to Chrome that lets you control foreground and background media right from the browser's toolbar. The feature has since arrived on the stable release of Chrome, though it still needs to be activated via chrome://flags/#global-media-controls before you can use it. To make it even handier, Google seems to be working on adding the ability to control cast content via these playback buttons.