[Tip] Activate Hidden Secret Tab Switcher UIs in Chrome on Android

If you use Google Chrome browser app in your mobile phone, this tutorial will help you in customizing the tab switcher UI in Chrome. Google Chrome browser comes preinstalled in most of the Google Android smartphones and almost all people use Chrome to browse websites.

When you want to open a new tab or switch to other tabs, you tap on the tab button or swipe down from the address bar or toolbar in Chrome app. Chrome opens the default tab switcher which looks like following screenshot:

It shows the default card tab switcher UI showing web page titles and thumbnail previews.

Many users find this default tab switcher confusing and irritating as it’s very hard to find which tab is currently active.

Did you know Chrome comes with a few built-in preferences/flags to customize the tab switcher UI? Chrome contains some hidden secret preferences which can be enabled or disabled to change appearance of tab switcher. You can set the tab switcher to horizontal view, grid view or a minimal view showing only webpage title and URLs.

Following image shows all 3 hidden secret UIs of tab switcher in Chrome which can be activated and enabled using built-in preferences:

If you are bored with default tab switcher UI and want to change its look-n-feel, following tricks will help you in enabling some hidden secret UIs of Chrome tab switcher:

1. Enable Horizontal Tab Switcher in Chrome app

You can change Chrome tab switcher to horizontal view similar to Android system app switcher. Following screenshot shows the horizontal tab switcher in action:

If you want to try horizontal tab switcher in Chrome, following steps will help you:

1. Open Chrome and type chrome://flags in address bar and tap on Go. It’ll open Chrome Experiments page where you can turn on/off several features.

2. Now type horizontal in Search flags box and it’ll show following result:

3. Tap on the “Default” drop-down box and select “Enabled” option from the list.

4. Chrome will ask you to restart the browser. Click on “Relaunch Now” button to relaunch Google Chrome.

Now try to launch tab switcher by tapping on tab button and you’ll get the new horizontal tab switcher UI.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default tab switcher in Chrome, set the above mentioned preference to Default again.

2. Enable Grid Layout in Tab Switcher in Chrome app

You can change Chrome tab switcher to grid layout. Following screenshot shows the grid layout in tab switcher in action:

If you want to try grid layout tab switcher in Chrome, following steps will help you:

1. Open Chrome and type chrome://flags in address bar and tap on Go. It’ll open Chrome Experiments page where you can turn on/off several features.

2. Now type tab grid in Search flags box and it’ll show following result:

3. Tap on the “Default” drop-down box and select “Disabled” option from the list.

4. Chrome will ask you to restart the browser. Click on “Relaunch Now” button to relaunch Google Chrome.

Now try to launch tab switcher by tapping on tab button and you’ll get the new grid layout in tab switcher UI.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default tab switcher in Chrome, set the above mentioned preference to Default again.

3. Enable Minimal and Clean Tab Switcher in Chrome app

You can change Chrome tab switcher to a minimal, clean and faster tab switcher which shows webpages names and URLs only. Following screenshot shows the minimal tab switcher in action:

If you want to try minimal tab switcher in Chrome, following steps will help you:

1. Open Chrome and type chrome://flags in address bar and tap on Go. It’ll open Chrome Experiments page where you can turn on/off several features.

2. Now type accessibility in Search flags box and it’ll show following result:

3. Tap on the “Disabled” drop-down box and select “Enabled” option from the list.

4. Chrome will ask you to restart the browser. Click on “Relaunch Now” button to relaunch Google Chrome.

Now try to launch tab switcher by tapping on tab button and you’ll get the new minimal tab switcher UI.

PS: In future, if you decide to restore default tab switcher in Chrome, set the above mentioned preference to Disabled again.

We have talked about this minimal tab switcher in past in following article:

[Fix] Google Chrome Tab Switcher UI Changed to Basic Horizontal List on Android

IMPORTANT NOTE:

If you activate and enable a tab switcher UI using above mentioned method and then you want to test other tab switcher UI, make sure to first restore the previous tab switcher preference to default value before enabling new tab switcher UI preference.

Also Check:

[Tip] Restore Old Tab Switcher Screen UI in Chrome on Android

[Tip] Enable Bottom Tab Switcher Toolbar in Chrome on Android

[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret “Chrome Duet” Bottom Toolbar in Chrome on Android

[Tip] How to Enable Dark Mode in Chrome on Android Mobile Phones

[Tip] Enable Dark Mode UI on All Websites in Chrome on Android Mobile Phones

[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret “Developer Options” Menu in Chrome Settings in Mobile Phones