What you need to know
- Chrome for Android now stretches content right to the edges, even under the status and navigation bars.
- It hides when you scroll, giving you more room for content.
- Chrome 135’s edge-to-edge design is live for a small group, with a wider launch expected later.
Google wants Chrome for Android to feel more immersive, so apps will now stretch to the very edges of your screen, right under the status and navigation bars.
The search giant announced in a community post that it started testing a new version of Chrome for Android that aims to maximize your screen space for a smoother, more immersive experience (via 9to5Google).
The visual below shows Chrome’s UI stretching seamlessly to the bottom edge, with content flowing into the navigation bar area.
According to Google, the new Chrome update brings a smart bottom bar that disappears when you scroll, freeing up more space for content under the navigation bar.
The Chrome team made sure it works with current mobile web designs, but Google is also warning developers to watch out for possible overlaps with the gesture navigation bar.
This is a big shift from the current setup, where the gesture pill sits on a plain, solid-color background. The new tweak has a more dynamic look, with content flowing right behind it.
When the update is rolled out to everyone, the gesture handle will float over content on the web browser as you scroll. But when you’re not scrolling and the address bar is visible, it’ll go back to the classic solid-color background.
Even though edge-to-edge screen rendering is possible, it hasn’t been widely adopted because of some real-world design challenges. For one, app controls and the system’s navigation bar can end up on top of each other, leading to accidental taps or swipes.
To tackle these issues, Google last year gave developers the tools and guidance needed for smooth edge-to-edge rendering. The tech giant also sent out a heads-up, warning that apps without the right updates might run into display glitches.
Google has started rolling out the edge-to-edge layout in Chrome 135 for Android, but it’s only live for a small group of users right now.