Say bye to the Chrome app launcher

Back in March, we reported that Chrome’s app launcher for Windows, Mac, and Linux would gradually disappear. Well, the time has come: Chrome’s app launcher is no more with Chrome 52.

Chrome’s app launcher had mixed reviews. On one hand, it was simply redundant. Why not just open up Chrome and go to your bookmarks? The launcher didn’t really save anyone any clicks.

Yet on the other hand, we saw a lot of users lamenting the planned phase-out. For those who needed constant access to Google apps, having a dedicated menu where everything Google was aggregated for you was the perfect solution – not to mention the ability to automatically launch these apps as separate windows.

Well, Google did some investigating and found out that for the majority of Windows, Mac, and Linux users, Chrome’s app launcher wasn’t all that useful. In fact, these users preferred to launch apps within their browser. So back in March, Google decided to gradually remove support over the next several months.

And as promised, Google has now removed the app launcher with the release of Chrome 52. Don’t worry if you are using Chrome OS – the app launcher is being discontinued only on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Another change Chrome 52 brings is more material design, specifically for Mac. Just like the one on Chrome OS, the new update will bring a flatter look in tabs, buttons, and menus on Mac. Unfortunately, at this time, we don’t know when the new look will be available for Windows.

Other than that, Chrome 52 includes regular security fixes – 48 of them to be exact – which can be found on the Google Chrome blog.

Will you miss Chrome’s app launcher? Let us know in the comments below!