TL;DR
- A browser with its address bar at the bottom of the screen is a desirable layout for mobile devices.
- Chrome on iOS got this option back in 2023, but has so far lacked it on Android.
- Today, Google finally starts giving Android users the choice, as well.
Smartphones may be pocket-sized computers, but there are a million and one good reasons why we wouldn’t want to use the same exact apps we do on our full-sized machines. Just the very fact that we’re interacting through a touchscreen means that developers need to make some thoughtful decisions when it comes to input and usability. This week, we’re getting some long-overdue good news for Chrome users on Android, as Google’s browser finally makes an important mobile-first change.
Having the address bar where a website displays its URL up at the top of your browser window makes enough sense on a PC screen, and even since the early days of NCSA Mosaic, browsers have tended to leave them up there. But while that’s fine on desktop computers or laptops, it hasn’t been our favorite choice when it comes to smartphone displays. If you’re regularly interacting with the address bar, having it down at the much more reachable bottom edge of your screen feels like superior placement. But so far, we haven’t had that option on Android.
Frustratingly, Google got the ball rolling with screen-bottom address bar placement for Chrome on smartphones with its iOS release, which has had it for well over a year now. Ever since, we’ve been patiently (and sometimes not so patiently) waiting for Google to port the same feature over to Android. Back in April, we finally saw some momentum upon reports of it starting to show up on Android, but apparently that rollout never quite got off the ground. While it’s once again taken longer than we’d like to get here, today Google finally announces that Android Chrome users are getting the option.
No one will be forced to change the way they interact with Chrome’s address bar on their phones, and if you’ve gotten fully accustomed to having it up top, you’re free to keep it there. But if you have been pining away for the option to move it down below the web page you’re viewing, that chance is finally arriving.
Google says that Android users should start seeing the choice in Chrome beginning today, though it may still be another couple of weeks before the option hits your browser. Considering how long we’ve already waited, we think we can manage a few more days.
