How to Switch Grid Tab Layout to Vertical Tab Layout in Mobile Chrome

Google recently rolled out an update for the Chrome app changing the User-interface of the app. Google Chrome is one of the most used web browser apps on any device because of its integration with Google and easy syncing capabilities with the desktop browser.

In this update, Google modified the default tab switched or tab view screen interface. Now, when you tap on the three-dot menu on the right-top corner of the screen, all the tabs are shown in a new layout.

Earlier, these tabs were shown stacked horizontally, and you could slide through all of these tabs. But now, all of the tabs are shown in a grid layout, and you can simply select the tab you want to view. This is a more organized way of viewing, but the earlier interface gave it a more animated feel which some users still prefer.

Google last year started beta-testing this feature, and they rolled it out to several users. However, earlier, this UI layout was not the default layout, and to install it, you have to follow specific steps that we will discuss later in this article.

The latest update has made this UI design the default layout, and some users are not happy with it. They prefer the old design and want to switch back to the old stacked tab layout. If you are one of such users that wants to restore the old version, we have good news for you.

You can shift the new grid layout to the old layout by disabling the grid layout and changing to the old classic horizontally stacked tab switcher screen.

Switch Grid Tab Layout to Vertical Tab Layout in Mobile Chrome :

• Open the Chrome app on your device, and in the search bar, type Chrome://flags and click on the go. This will open the Chrome Experiments page, where you can customize the interface of your app.
• In the Search flags box, type tab grid which will display you the Tab Grid Layout It will present the following statement:
  

                                 #enable-tab-grid-layout

• There will be a drop-down box with the word “default”, and click on it to explore the list.
• From the list, choose the “Disabled” option by pressing on it.
• Now the browser will prompt you to restart the browser to see the recent changes. Press on the “Relaunch Now” button to restart the browser.

When you click on the “Relaunch Now” button, the browser will automatically reboot again, but you might not see the changes. This happens because Chrome did not close completely as it was running in the background. To completely close the browser, you have to close it from the Recent Apps and then restart the app. Now once you have done all this, Chrome will have switched to the old grid layout.

You can also restart the browser by simply typing the Chrome://restart command on the search bar. You can now check if Chrome has switched back to the old layout by opening two or more tabs.

Suppose you like the new layout and want to switch back to the new layout; you just have to make a single change in the above steps. Follow all the above steps and choose Enabled instead of the Disabled option to select the new layout.

You can also experiment with other menus and choose the UI you like the best. You can choose from the following list of menus that will add some changes to the existing UI.

• Default
• Enabled
• Enabled New Tab Tile
• Enabled New Tab Variation
• Enabled Tall NTV
• Enabled Price Alerts
• Enabled Search term chip
• Disabled

Enable Vertical Tab Layout for Mobile Chrome

UPDATE : Apart from the change in the UI of the tab switcher page, Google also rolled an update for a Tab Group feature in both desktop and mobile apps. This feature automatically groups different tab groups, or you can also do it manually. If you want to turn this feature off as well, you can do it by following the same steps as above with some variations.

• Open the Chrome app on your device, and in the search bar, type Chrome://flags and click on the go. This will open the Chrome Experiments page, where you can customize the interface of your app.
• After opening the Chrome Flag page, search for Tab Group.

• The search will open the Tab Group page with a drop-down dialogue box.
• Click on the dialogue box and choose the Disabled
• Now the browser will prompt you to restart the browser to see the latest changes. Press on the “Relaunch Now” button to restart the browser.

This will disable the Tab group feature, and you can comfortably use the older UI.

Google periodically rolls out recent updates for their apps to make the user experience better. However, these updates can seem too complicated or displeasing to the eye sometimes. Google always understands the importance of user-satisfaction and tries to make the experience as comfortable as it can.

Whenever they roll-out an update, Google always ensures a way to switch back to the older version. By following these steps mentioned above, you can switch from the new tab switcher UI to the old classic horizontally stacked tab switcher UI.