7 features I want Chrome to steal from its rivals, and why

I’ve been on the Chrome bandwagon for years now and it remains my go-to browser even today. But let’s just say, I haven’t been entirely faithful to Chrome. Over the years, I’ve dabbled in a wide variety of browsers ranging from Edge to modern AI-infused alternatives to see what I might be missing out on. And while I keep coming back to Chrome, it’s clear to me that Google has been playing it safe.

Google’s been so focused on stability, performance, and ecosystem integration that it’s lost some of the ambition that made Chrome exciting in the first place. Meanwhile, competitors like Edge, Vivaldi, Samsung Internet, and even Opera have been quietly adding genuinely useful features that make you question why Chrome doesn’t have them yet. Don’t get me wrong. For as much as we criticize Chrome, it still nails the basics like syncing across devices, a smart address bar, and unmatched integration with Google services. But that is exactly why it should be better. With the basics nailed down tight and mass acceptance by millions of users, now is the time for Chrome to raise the bar with a modern feature set.

So here’s a list of features I wish Chrome would just borrow already. In 2025, I wouldn’t call any of these features game changers. But most of them are table stakes that would make Chrome a better browser without compromising on what makes it great today. While most of these features are available across the desktop and mobile versions of the browsers, some are available only on the desktop version to account for available screen space.

If you, like me, are a sucker for widescreen displays, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Once you’ve used a browser with vertical tabs, it’s hard to go back. Edge and Vivaldi get this right with implementations that let you stack dozens of tabs neatly along the side. It saves horizontal space, keeps tab titles or icons visible, and just makes sense for widescreen monitors.

Chrome still forces you to deal with overflowing tabs that shrink to favicon-sized blobs. With my kind of use, even those favicons aren’t a very viable solution. Sure, there are a few extensions that claim to offer vertical tabs, but nothing beats a native, polished solution with full keyboard shortcut support and drag-and-drop management. For power users like me who are constantly juggling dozens of tabs at once, vertical tabs aren’t a nice-to-have anymore. They’re essential.

As a writer on the internet, I spend a lot of time researching and, all too often, referencing interesting research in my articles, comparing spec sheets, or looking up a Google Doc while drafting an email.

One of my favorite features in the Vivaldi browser is its native ability to toss up split-screen tabs that let you view two tabs side by side. It might seem like a minor step up over just snapping two windows side by side in Chrome, but the added convenience makes a big difference in everyday usability. More so because once you have a couple of these windows open, believe me, it can be a chore to sift through the mess to locate the right one. A simple tab tiling feature that lets you open two or more tabs in a split screen inside a single window would instantly boost productivity, especially for users who live in their browser all day.

It boggles my mind that in 2025, Chrome still doesn’t offer a native screenshot tool with full-fledged, or even rudimentary, annotation capabilities. Yes, I can use the tools built into my Mac, but that’s more steps for something as basic as taking a screenshot and sharing a section of the display.

Meanwhile, Edge lets you capture a section of a page, mark it up, and share it instantly. Opera goes one step further with text recognition and meme templates. Chrome users are stuck with clunky third-party extensions or system-level tools that lack web-specific context. Whether you’re grabbing a quote, pointing out a bug, or saving a receipt, built-in screenshot tools save time. If Google really wants to push its AI-first strategy, imagine combining a screenshot tool with contextual smart suggestions or one-tap copy-paste.

There’s so much untapped potential in a browser sidebar. Microsoft saw that first and turned the Edge sidebar into a productivity hub. You can take notes, use the AI-based Copilot to interact with the web page, manage tasks, or control media playback directly from the side of your browser screen.Vivaldi offers a customizable panel for social media, email, and RSS. Opera, too, offers a plethora of features like social connections and key bookmarks.

Chrome’s side panel, in comparison, feels like an afterthought. It’s not really a sidebar to begin with, nor is it available to all users, but even when accessible, it lacks the breadth of features that other browsers include. Why not let users pin tools like Keep, Gemini, Calendar, or Gmail into the sidebar? Add support for custom widgets and suddenly Chrome transforms into a full blown workspace for users.

Chrome and bad RAM management go hand-in-hand. In fact, the browser is the punchline for jokes about being a memory hog and for contributing to poor battery efficiency. While Google has been working on fixing that reputation, Microsoft Edge’s efficiency mode proves that a browser can actively manage background tabs and power consumption without slowing things down.

Giving users direct access to an energy-efficient mode leads to better battery life on laptops, fewer fan whirrs, smoother performance on lower-end hardware, and fewer user complaints. Who’d have thought? Chrome has started making progress here with features like Memory Saver and Energy Saver, but they’re tucked away in settings and not as effective as Edge’s approach. A dedicated mode with clear toggles and real-time feedback could go a long way.

With privacy ranking up there as one of the top things users look out for on the internet these days, it is no surprise that it is the modern day battleground for browsers as well. And let’s just say Chrome still feels like it’s playing catch-up. That somewhat understandable given Google’s skewed ad-driven business interests. Browsers like Brave block trackers by default, Safari shows exactly which trackers were stopped, and Firefox gives you a privacy scorecard.

Chrome’s privacy tools, on the other hand, feel more like a developer experiment than a user-facing feature. Basic things like clearing site data, managing permissions, or turning off third-party cookies should be easier and more transparent instead of being buried deep within menus and submenus. An easy to view dashboard with smarter defaults and explanations that don’t require an engineering degree is what we need. But it’s far from what we get with Chrome.

I think we can all agree that Chrome is far from the most customizable browser — on desktop or mobile. It’s something that Samsung Internet does brilliantly. You can pick which buttons show up in the toolbar and rearrange them to suit your flow. Want a shortcut for downloads, share, dark mode, or desktop site toggle? You can add that.

Chrome, meanwhile, sticks to a rigid layout that hasn’t changed much in years. Sure, there are a few more settings to add deeper settings to the menu bar, but offering a browser experience that’s truly your own isn’t what Chrome specializes in. Even basic stuff like customizing the new tab page or moving the address bar is limited. Chrome could significantly benefit from letting users tweak the interface to fit their habits and devices. For example, mobile users might prefer one-handed controls while desktop users might want more shortcuts.

Being the default browser isn’t enough anymore

For a browser as bloated as Chrome, you might be thinking I’m wrong in asking for more features. But adding quality of life enhancements goes hand-in-hand with removing legacy cruft. The best browsers today strike a balance between performance and functionality. Edge, Vivaldi, and even Arc browser show that it’s possible to be fast, clean, and powerful at the same time. And many of these browsers are built on the same Chromium base as Chrome.

Google’s Chrome browser has the foundation and the reach to pull ahead with modern features that it’s still missing out on once it decides to stop playing it safe. If even a few of these ideas made their way into Chrome in a meaningful way, it could feel fresh again instead of being the default by virtue of being the most common option.