Chrome on Android is developing its own identity, inching closer to becoming a full-fledged operating system. Google is even testing a “Chrome Colors” option that allows color-managing the browser and giving it its own separate set of colors, regardless of the system-wide Material You theming. The change is showing up for some users in Chrome Canary, and it suggests a future where your browser’s appearance won’t be tied into the hues derived from your phone’s wallpaper.
What’s New In Android Theming for Chrome
One tester notes an Appearance section inside the ‘Customize’ menu on the browser’s New Tab page. There’s a Chrome Colors panel inside, with a handful of curated palettes. At the moment it seems limited — some users are only seeing two options — but the structure of the options suggests a more complete gallery at some point. This is in addition to choices for background image and a more comprehensive Appearance entry that’s been cooking in Canary for months.
This move aligns with Google’s ongoing Material 3 revamp of core apps. The system palette is still controlled by Material You, but Chrome’s new option makes the browser a first-class exception, bringing it in line with the freedom that desktop has long provided.
Why Separate Theming Matters for Chrome on Android
Dynamic color is wonderful until it falls short. If your wallpaper is on the pastel side, Chrome’s UI will inherit relatively low-contrast shades that can render toolbars and tab strips tougher to parse. A fixed high-contrast palette can give you a noticeable readability bump, which is always nice when we need to read on screens for accessibility or due to heavy multitasking. It also provides power users and brands more autonomy over visual identity without pushing them to take on the system theme.
The scale makes this noteworthy. Chrome controls an estimated two-thirds of the global mobile browser market, according to StatCounter. Even minor adjustments in how tabs, toolbars and surfaces are colored at the interface ripple across hundreds of millions. This makes Chrome feel more consistent across devices made by different manufacturers with their own Material You interpretations.
How to Try Chrome Colors on Android in Canary Now
The feature is appearing in Chrome Canary, an experimental channel favored for new ideas first. It’s not available universally, even for those in the U.S. — Google often gates features with server-side flags, meaning your device might not have access to the toggle right away. If you do, tap Customize when a new tab is open, go into Appearance and then hunt for Chrome Colors. If you’ve read anything from me about Canary before, you’ll know that we’re not afraid to ship a work in progress with lots of rough edges and iterate.
The menu in action has popped up here and there from community sleuths who track Chromium changes, posting early demos of it in use, although what emerges can change build to build. No promise that it will ship exactly as tested.
Tab Group Colors and New Tab Page Backgrounds
In addition to the main palette picker, Google is testing color-coded tab groups on Android — matching a widely loved desktop feature. Attributing color to a group speeds up scanning crowded tab switchers, for example research tabs in blue, travel planning in green, and shopping in red. Also being tested is a custom image background option for the New Tab page, closing out this larger personalization push.
That work dovetails with the recent introduction of Material 3 expressive elements in the stable browser, such as refreshed shapes, typography and motion. It all adds up to a cleaner, clearer UI with just a smidgen more personality.
When a Wider Chrome for Android Rollout Might Happen
Changes move from Canary to Dev, then Beta, and eventually to the Stable release of Chrome. That pipeline is usually a few weeks long, but visual features frequently stick around in testing while Google tweaks defaults and accessibility. And as always, experiments can be abandoned if feedback or metrics come up short.
Even so, the direction is clear: Google is making Chrome on Android feel more self-defining, with controls that follow system design while allowing users to override it if doing so aids usability. Even seen through a thin layer of paint, on the web browser that a majority of mobile users have chosen, it makes your day-to-day browsing feel crisper and more personal.
