Android Chrome Tab Groups to Match Desktop's with Colors and Titles

Tab groups, the feature that allows you to organize tabs into distinct groups, is getting a desktop-like appearance in Chrome on Android. The addition of colors and titles makes it easier to identify and manage tab groups. The Tab Group Parity feature for Chrome on Android is currently being tested in the Canary version.

Google initially introduced the Tab Groups feature in Chrome for the desktop and later added a basic version to Android. Desktop Tab Groups come equipped with better abilities to recognize groups of tabs using color codes and titles. Additionally, Chrome allows users to save and sync tab groups. However, these features are not currently available in the Android version, at least in terms of visual identification and labels.

Tab Group Parity in Chrome on Android

What is Tab group parity?

“Tab Group Parity aims to make tab groups more coherent across all of the various menus in the browser by making some UI tweaks, behavioral changes, and adding in some functionality,” notes Google in the feature bug report.

Google aims to bring parity between Chrome tab groups on Android and those on desktop. As a result, Android Tab Groups will now display colors and titles, along with visual indicators in the tab strip. These indicators include outlines for the selected tab group title and a bottom indicator.

We have noticed Google started working on the feature on January 11, but the flag hasn’t worked initially, the work has taken some time to reflect in Canary. Today we found feature started working partially.

To enable Tab Group Parity for Chrome on Android:

1. Launch Chrome.
2. Visit chrome://flags.
3. Find and enable “Tab Group Parity Android” and “Tab Strip Indicators Android.”
   
   
4. Relaunch Chrome.

When you open tabs and create a group, followed by several tab groups, you’ll notice that Chrome immediately shows colors for tab groups. Currently, Chrome uses the number of tabs as the default title, but this may change in the future. Stay tuned for upcoming changes to Tab Groups in Android.

In summary, Tab Group Parity for Android brings cross-platform consistency to tab groups, introducing colors and required titles. Additionally, Android’s Tab Strip Group Indicators display visual cues, including outlines for the selected tab, the tab group title indicator, and the bottom indicator.

What’s your take on this? Do you use Tab Groups in Chrome on Android? Let us know your thoughts on Google’s efforts to make Tab Groups consistent in terms of look and functionality across platforms in the comments below.

Looking for a desktop browser that offers better tab management, then check the 6 Best Browsers For Multiple Tabs & Tab Groups [2024 List]