Google Chrome is by far the world’s most popular Internet browser. There’s a version for every major operating system out there, however, the only versions that are best suited for touchscreen devices are the Android and iOS ones. With Chrome OS tablets soon on the way, Google has been working on making the Chrome browser more touchscreen friendly with its “Touchable Chrome” feature. We first caught glimpses of what this would look like last month, but since then the feature has matured a bit and is now suitable for daily use.
If you own (or plan to own) a tablet running Chrome OS, a Microsoft Windows-based tablet, or a Windows convertible laptop with a touchscreen, then you may be interested in enabling this feature so that your Chrome experience is a bit more touch friendly. The hidden Chrome flag we’ll be enabling will make Chrome’s tab strip and all of its buttons much larger and more prominent—meaning pressing on them with your finger will be much easier. Here’s how to enable it.
How to make Google Chrome more Touchscreen Friendly on Tablets & Laptops
At the time of this article’s publication, this feature is available in the beta channel for Chrome OS and in Chrome Dev for Windows/Linux. This feature seems to be available in Chrome version 67+ for now.
- In Chrome’s address bar, copy and paste the following URL:
chrome://flags/#top-chrome-md - That should bring you to the following in-development feature flag.
- Depending on what version of Google Chrome you are on, you’ll see different options here. Click on the drop-down to the side and select “Touchable.” At the time of writing, the “Material Design” refresh is only available in the Chrome Canary build.
- After you select an option, a popup will appear at the bottom asking you to relaunch the browser. Select “Relaunch now” and Chrome will restart with the new UI!
Enjoy Google Chrome’s new makeover with a touch-friendly interface! Google is working on making this interface the default on tablet devices, so eventually, you won’t even have to manually enable this flag!