Chrome is about to look a bit different

Chrome on the desktop is about to get a new look. Google’s widely used browser is getting an update based on its Material You design language in the coming weeks, and in this case, that will include refreshed icons with “a focus on legibility” and new color palettes that “better complement your tabs and toolbar,” according to a blog post from Chrome VP Parisa Tabriz.

You can get an early peek at the new look in the image and GIF below. To me, the most noticeable change is that things look a bit more rounded, like the new corners near the top of the window.

Image: Google

GIF: Chrome

Chrome itself isn’t the only thing that’s getting a new look, as Google is updating the interface for the Chrome Web Store with some Material You design flair (and rounded corners!) as well. Those changes are already live in public preview (as spotted by 9to5Google last week), and I’ve made an image slider comparing the old style to the new one below; I think the new store looks much better.

Google is also making some updates to its Safe Browsing tools in Chrome to help keep you safe as you’re browsing the web. When you navigate to a potentially dangerous site, Google currently checks that site against a list that’s stored locally and updated every 30 to 60 minutes. But in the coming weeks, it will instead check sites against Google’s list of bad sites in real time, a change could stop you from going to a malicious site that was created only minutes before. “By shortening the time between identification and prevention of threats, we expect to see 25 percent improved protection from malware and phishing threats,” Tabriz says.