Google Chrome 129 for Android themes the gesture navigation bar

Abner Li | Sep 26 2024 - 3:39 pm PT

With Chrome 129, Google is making a small tweak where Android’s navigation bar is now themed to every page.

Previously, the gesture navigation bar in Chrome was either light or dark depending on the device theme.

With Chrome 129, the bar is themed based on the “background color of the active tab.” It’s not transparent, but does result in a slightly more immersive experience depending on the page.

Old vs. new

This change is also apparent when you use Tab Groups, with the gesture bar becoming one with that UI.

In practice, the bar will adopt a light theme since most pages are that, while it’s a more obvious change with 3-button navigation. The is currently a flag to control the feature, but that will presumably be phased out in the future: chrome://flags/#enable-nav-bar-matches-tab-android.

Chrome 129 with this navigation bar change is rolling out now via the Google Play Store. It follows the recent addition of vibration feedback when you pull-to-refresh.