Google is bringing iOS-style Settings icons to Chrome for Android

Google’s no stranger when it comes to tweaking the look and feel of its apps, and Chrome is a big example of that. The browser’s last big Android redesign came in July, and it brought a new bottom navigation bar. Fast-forward to now, and Google is ready to add a functional search box to Chrome’s three-dot menu to find browser actions, bookmarks, and recent history. But the changes don’t stop there.

Google is testing another small but useful change that could make Chrome’s Settings menu a little easier to navigate on Android, as highlighted by @Leopeva64 on X.

The tech giant is testing adding colorful icons to individual entries on Chrome for Android’s main Settings page. Interestingly, Chrome for iOS already sports said colorful Settings icons, forcing Android to play catch-up.

The first two screenshots below highlight what Chrome for Android’s main Settings page looks like right now. The latter two highlight what Google is testing.

Note that the change is currently only visible in Chrome Canary, suggesting that it is still experimental in nature. It’s part of the broader Settings reorganization that Google has reportedly been working on for months.

It’s also worth noting that although not all the new icons are direct one-to-one copies of their iOS counterparts, they do follow the same overall design language. The consistency across the platforms suggests that Google is preparing to bring the refreshed interface to Chrome’s stable Android release sooner rather than later.

Google is also ditching the labels

Eagle-eyed users must have also spotted another minor change in the screenshots above. The “Basics” and “Advanced” subsection labels are nowhere to be found in the redesigned interface. The settings still appear to be visually separated by space, hinting at Google’s minimalist ambitions with the change. Elsewhere, the Address bar and Homepage settings are nowhere to be found in the menu because they’ve reportedly been moved to Appearance.

If you want to try out the redesigned Settings menu yourself, you’ll need to download Chrome Canary first. From there, type chrome://flags and search for Settings IA Reorganization. Enable the flag, relaunch Chrome Canary when prompted, and you should now have access to the new icons! Note that Chrome Canary is Google’s experimental playground for browser features, so the experience might not be as polished as stable Chrome.