Chrome for Android rolling out helpful icons to the overflow menu

Abner Li | Dec 10 2020 - 12:34 am PT

Google’s browser, especially on mobile, has always had a minimal interface to keep the focus on web content. Chrome houses the vast majority of controls in the overflow menu, which has just been tweaked with icons on Android.

Original 12/10: The menu — marked with a vertical ellipsis — in the top-right corner now features icons next to each item. From the Incognito hat and sunglasses to a star for Bookmarks, these symbols should be familiar to any Android user. Google has not changed how the buttons are arranged or the menu’s height.

This addition helps make browsing the menu simpler even if you have the order committed to muscle memory. For others, it’s still a rather long list that’s now easier to navigate.

Meanwhile, there’s another visual tweak to the top of this menu where Chrome for Android’s four core actions — forward/back, bookmarking, downloading, and info — are now displayed against a different background. The row is lighter when night mode is enabled, and darker with the light theme. It’s a small touch that helps distinguish the common controls.

Update 12/11: Google has tweaked the design to add lines that partition the menu. New tab creation is its own section, as are settings and help. The other two groupings aren’t as thematically connected, but it does help this list — which is now taller — become even more glanceable.

Chrome for Android’s tweaked menu with icons is rolling out via a server-side update today on the latest version 87 release. If you don’t have it yet, go to the system App info screen for the browser and Force stop. After reopening the app, the icons should show up.