If you run a developer version of Google's Chrome web browser you may have noticed for some time now that Google moved the New Tab button of the browser to a new position.

All modern web browsers display the New Tab button on the right of the tab listing. While the design of the button may be different, you may get a plus, an icon, or any other symbol, it has been at the right of the tab bar for a long time.

Chrome Canary changes that as the New Tab button is displayed on the left side of the tab bar.

Note: I'm not sure if my system has been selected for an experiment by Google or if the change has been applied to all Chrome Canary installations. It seems more likely that it is an experiment to gather data on usage and find out if moving the button to the leftmost position is beneficial or problematic.

Google Chrome Canary is the cutting-edge version of Chrome that uses Chromium as its core but gets extra code that Google provides.

Google tends to launch new features and experiments in Chrome Canary first before it moves the changes to Chrome Dev, Beta and finally Stable versions of the web browser.

Considering that Canary is the cutting edge version, features get tested in Chrome Canary frequently that don't always land in the stable version of Chrome.

Moving the New Tab button to the left of the browser interface is a huge change because all major browsers on desktop devices use a different position for the button and have been using the rightmost position on the tab bar for display for a long time.

I went through an adjustment period in Chrome after I noticed the change in Canary. While I do use Ctrl-T most of the time to open new tabs in browsers, I sometimes click with the mouse instead.

I found myself moving the mouse cursor to the rightmost position in the browser's interface time and time again at first before realizing that the button was not there but on the leftmost position instead.

Closing Words

The moving of the New Tab button to the leftmost position on the tab bar in Chrome is definitely a major change that many users may have problems adjusting to should Google move forward with the change.

Now You: what is your take on the change?

Summary Article Name Google tests new position for New Tab button in Chrome Description If you run a developer version of Google's Chrome web browser you may have noticed for some time now that Google moved the New Tab button of the browser to a new position. Author Martin Brinkmann Publisher Ghacks Technology News Logo

Advertisement