The bottom toolbar may return to Chrome on Android

It appears that Google is planning to launch a bottom toolbar for its Chrome browser on Android devices. The company is reportedly testing a limited bottom toolbar in Chrome on Android phones/tablets. The company previously experimented with moving the toolbar and other interface elements to the bottom on Android.

However, the search titan didn’t widely roll it out and long scrapped these tests. But now, the bottom toolbar from experimental tests could return to Chrome on Android soon.

Chrome on Android could soon let you place the toolbar at the bottom

According to MSPowerUser, Google is trying to place the toolbar at the bottom of the screen in Chrome on Android. The publication has spotted a commit message on Chromium’s website. It hints at how Google is adding a flag for the new bottom toolbar functionality to Chrome on Android. The “Bottom toolbar” flag mentions that, “if enabled, displays the toolbar at the bottom”, added the source.

Furthermore, the report suggests for Chrome on Android to support the toolbar at the bottom, some improvements will be required at the UI level. The new change will change the overall layout of the application. The company could move some elements like the address bar, tabs, and even navigation buttons to the bottom.

The new UI change could offer a more intuitive browsing experience

Once launched, the new UI change of the Chrome app on Android devices could offer a more intuitive and efficient browsing experience. It will make the toolbar easier to access as opposed to the current location at the top. The new functionality will certainly be welcomed by users with large Android devices.

It’s worth mentioning that many third-party browser apps on Android like Opera and Vivaldi already allow users to configure the placement of the toolbar. Users can place the address bar and tab bar at the bottom of the screen using Settings in these apps. Notably, Chrome for iOS devices has been supporting this feature since November last year. Now, we are waiting for it to hit the Android devices soon.