Chrome Settings Page getting a modern UI

Google always wants the Chrome interface to be minimal. The company removes unnecessary features and makes available some of them as extensions. Chrome UI received material design refresh sometime back. After that, the Chrome team is giving some of the browser components an uplift. Seems as if the settings page and search box are getting the modern look first.

Chrome's new modern setings page
new chrome Settings page

According to commits [1] & [2], we spotted seems Settings page getting the white paint first

coruscate Settings: Update WebUI headers to match new spec.

Changes applying to both light and dark mode:
 - Add 46px border radius to the toolbar search input
 - Change font-size, font-weight in toolbar title
 - Add Chrome logo next to the toolbar title (a different logo will be
   used for dark mode in a follow-up).

Changes only applying to light mode:
 - Change toolbar and page background color to white.
 - Change search input background, font, cursor and spinner color.

Only rolled out to Settings, but the changes are made in such a way
to make it easy to roll out to other WebUIs (by defining the
enableBrandingUpdateAttribute loadTimeData string).

Chrome Settings page with a modern look

The WebUI branding update, Google is testing in Canary “changes various UI components in WebUI pages to have a modern look”

To see the Chrome Settings page with a modern look right away, ensure you’re using Canary 93.0.4577.0 or later

Visit chrome://flags/#webui-branding-update, select Enabled and restart the browser
webUI branding update flag

Click on the menu and select Settings or head to chrome://settings in the address bar.

current Chrome Setting page design
Present Chrome Settings layout

What is WebUI in Chrome

A while back, we’ve covered how to turn on the WebUI tab strip for Chrome on Windows. Since then, we’ve heard not heard about related to the Windows version.

For the uninitiated, here is what WebUI is

To put it in simple words, it is used to describe part of Chrome UI implemented with web technologies such as CSS, HTML, and JavaScript.

We can say Chrome History, Settings, and Downloads as some of the pages using WebUI.

  • Chrome://settings
  • Chrome://history
  • Chrome://downloads.

What is your take on Chrome settings redesign? Have you liked it? Let us know in the comments below.

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Chrome gains HTTPS-Only Mode, here’s how to Enable

Venkat Eswarlu

Venkat is an independent technology journalist and the founder of Techdows. He has been covering web browsers, Windows, and software news since 2009. His exclusive scoops on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge features have been cited by Forbes, TechCrunch, Wired, CNET, and other major publications.

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