What you need to know
- A test via Chrome Canary shows that Google is interested in adding a Material You feature to Android.
- Chrome web users might see a dynamic color feature that allows the browser to take the main color of its wallpaper as its own theme.
- Dynamic colors on Android phones completely change the color of many UI elements and Google-developed apps.
Google appears to be testing a new feature via Chrome Canary that resembles Material You on Android.
The test was spotted by a Reddit user who posted a few short videos of the test in action. Through the videos provided, we can see how Google Chrome will soon attempt to complement the tab color with whatever background users choose to display as their browser’s background, similar to dynamic colors via Material You.
Currently, Chrome web users can choose which background they want to see when opening a new tab or window. They can also determine the color of their browser’s top bar.
Thankfully, the gifs make it seem like users still have the option to choose their own browser color if the color offered isn’t to their liking.
Also, a noticeable difference in this test compared to dynamic colors on Android is how much richer and bolder the colors appear in this test. Dynamic colors for phones are much lighter, almost like pastel colors. Google’s choice to test this feature with richer colors is certainly different, but keep it consistent with how the colors currently look during the live build.
Dynamic Colors debuted alongside Material You when Android 12 launched and have continued to improve themselves through the most recent iteration of Android 13. Those with Material You on Android will know that this design software goes much deeper than just the browser.
This new color palette system was introduced to help users create a phone UI that was unique to them and felt comfortable. On many phones, such as the Pixel 7 Pro, Material You’s dynamic colors completely change a phone’s design elements to complement your chosen wallpaper, while also giving you the option to choose your own theme.
Certain Google-provided apps also have the icons customized to fit all the content you have to offer.
It may take some time for this feature to be available in stable Chrome versions. However, if you want to try out Chrome’s new Material You dynamic color themes, you’ll need Chrome Canary version 110. You also need to enable a Chrome flag for the feature to work: chrome://flags/#customize-chrome-color-extraction.