Google Chrome Canary has been rolling out plenty of new and interesting features for the browser, and the latest one is particularly interesting for those who use Chrome themes.
According to Twitter feature researcher Leopeva64, and reported on by Android Police, the latest feature coming to Chrome Canary v114 is something straight from Android: dynamic theming. Dynamic themes as used by Android create a palette based on your wallpaper that’s optimized for contrast and text legibility in light and dark modes.
Google is borrowing that same concept and bringing it to Chrome themes, with the dynamic theming based on your browser theme rather than your computer’s wallpaper. Leopeva64 noticed that “the color of the text now matches the Chrome theme color,” and Android Police’s testing proved that it’s currently active in dark mode right now.
Google continues to innovate its browser experience
This might be subtle, but dynamic theming is an excellent accessibility feature to bring to the best Chromebook and its browser. Text legibility can be a major issue, and using a tool from Android that’s already effective in combating it is far more effective than simply changing the text color. And the fact that it seems to be rolling out for dark mode, a mode that tends to be used for accessibility reasons, is even better.
Considering how many beautiful themes are currently available for Google Chrome, having dynamic theming is also a great idea, as it lets you continue to use this feature without having to make the choice between more accessible text and a browser experience that isn’t the same bland thing recycled.
And this isn’t the first time Google has brought theme changes to its Chrome browser either. The first major one was called Material Design in 2018, which rounded out the corners of tabs and the address bar. Another of the big changes was the introduction of dark mode back in 2020, and then in 2022 Google introduced an even darker version of dark mode. 2020 also brought in customizable color themes, which were first introduced through Chrome Canary.
Hopefully Chrome Canary will continue to bring in more browser updates and features. Especially since the company has been interested in bringing its Material Design 3 look from its Google Workspace to the browser, which would be an excellent way to keep the UI looking fresh and clean.
