Google has spent almost a year developing its Material You redesign for ChromeOS. It brings new features and improvements to Chromebooks. The plans for this redesign were first revealed in January 2022. Since then, Google has been steadily working on the project. The dynamic colors of Material You are one of the new additions. We saw this design in June 2022. With new quick settings revamp and other features, the Material You redesign is shaping up to be a major improvement. In this post, we will see how you can enable Material You on Chrome OS.
Google introduced the Material You design language with the release of Android 12. It is creating a modern and appealing look for Android smartphones. The Material You is still in progress. However, Google has already made changes to some important user interface elements in the Canary channel.
Enable Material You on Chrome OS
Make Sure to Have Canary Channel Enabled
To enable Material You on Chromebook, we will use the Chrom Flag. For that, you must have enabled Canary Channel.
For that, I highly recommend the detailed guide from Chrome Unboxed. They have mentioned step-by-step information on how to move your Chromebook to Canary Channel. And how to get out (most blogs, don’t mention the second part).
Detailed guide on how to move your Chromebook to the Canary Channel and how to get out
Please note that switching to the Canary Channel requires enabling Developer Mode, which disables the secure and verified boot feature of your Chromebook. This can pose a significant security risk, and therefore, it is not recommended to remain in the Canary Channel for an extended period of time. Only access the channel briefly to preview the changes, and then switch back to a more secure configuration. This is a cautionary warning for your protection.
Here’s how to enable the Material You design on your Chromebook
I assume you have moved your Chromebook to Canary Channel to get hands on Google’s new Material You on Chrome OS.
Time needed: 2 minutes.
Let’s go through the steps.
- After switching to the Canary channel, open the Chrome browser and type “chrome://flags” in the address bar, and hit enter. This will open the Chrome Flags window.
- Next, search for “qs-revamp” in the Chrome Flags window and enable the flag. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the following address into the Chrome browser to be taken directly to the relevant Chrome flag.
chrome://flags#qs-revamp
- Now, Restart.
- With the flag enabled, open the Quick Settings panel to experience the new Material You design on your Chromebook. The Quick Settings panel will now have a similar appearance to the one found on Android devices, featuring larger bubbles and wider brightness and audio sliders.
Thoughts on Material You on Chrome OS
The highlight of the new Material You design for many users is the integration of dynamic colors, similar to what was first introduced in Android 12. This allows your Chromebook to adapt its color scheme to match your current wallpaper. The framework for ChromeOS dynamic colors appears to be in place, with the app shelf, Quick Settings, and Files app all adhering to a specific color theme. The new Material You-designed volume and screen brightness sliders for ChromeOS closely resemble those found on Pixel devices.
The latest design has distinguished notifications from the Quick Settings (QS) panel, similar to Windows 11. It would have been nice if Google had allowed direct access to specific folders on the ChromeOS Shelf, but perhaps that can be added in the future. Currently, I can say with confidence that the Material You design has improved the appearance and functionality of ChromeOS, giving it a polished and integrated feel. I am eagerly anticipating the new redesign to be released on the Stable channel in the near future.
In conclusion, the integration of Material You into ChromeOS helps create a familiar experience for those who have used a Pixel phone. There is still much to be done, however, it is evident that Google has a clear direction for the future of ChromeOS and is moving forward with it quickly.