Chrome Is Finally Getting Vertical Tabs (techcrunch.com)
- Reference: 0181403978
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/26/04/07/2018212/chrome-is-finally-getting-vertical-tabs
- Source link: https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/07/chrome-is-finally-getting-vertical-tabs/
> The company notes that the new vertical tabs can be enabled at any time by right-clicking on a Chrome window and selecting "Show Tabs Vertically." The company says there's no hard limit on the number of tabs that can be opened (beyond what would be limited already by the user's hardware). The vertical tabs work just as the horizontal tabs do, meaning you can have different Chrome windows with their own set of tabs or tab groups.
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> [...] Alongside the launch of vertical tabs, Chrome is also rolling out a new Reading Mode experience, which will offer a full-page interface to make it even easier to reduce on-screen clutter to focus on the text. This will be the new default experience for Chrome users, and arrives at a time when web pages, particularly those on news sites, have become cluttered with ads and prompts to subscribe to newsletters.
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/07/chrome-is-finally-getting-vertical-tabs/
[2] https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/chrome/new-chrome-productivity-features/
Does it whip it? (Score:1, Funny)
Oh, is this actually good UI? I've seen it mentioned but I kind of ignore new UI stuff unless it comes from someone who knows that Winamp is good.
As long as it's just an option (Score:3)
Personally, I'm not a fan. Tabs belong at the top, just like the real-world analog of folder tabs that you'd find in a file cabinet. But hey, I'm not gonna yuck your yum if you really want 'em displayed in a list off to the side. You do you.
Re: (Score:2)
I think it's for a certain kind of workflow. If you want to watch YouTube videos it kind of does nothing useful. If you want to swap between documents and reference materials a lot, much more helpful. I think the answer is "It sucks because it's for multitasking, not because it is a bad idea."
Re: (Score:1)
If following the real-world analog is that important, then you should limit yourself to three visible tabs. The rest should only be accessed by moving through a list.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually file cabinets typically stored the papers themselves sideways. So this would most be like the existing tab bar being turned 90 degrees and put on the side of the screen. Which does not match the proposed or old design either.
Re: (Score:2)
Tabs are stupid. Sorting windows into tabs should be delegated to the window manager.
Why core? (Score:3)
This seems like something that should be part of an extension.
Chrome does it? Time to move on. (Score:2)
Next? Diagonal tabs. They just plaster the tabs right across the browser window corner to corner. You can, however, choose which diagonal course it takes. Left lower to right upper, or left upper to right lower. True configurable innovation!
Re: (Score:2)
Do it like the stacked tool bars that used to infest browsers. View port is the lower quarter of the screen.
Why? (Score:2)
Why do these browser companies think anyone wants vertical tabs? Why are they all hell bent on breaking workflows by drastically altering the user interface for "reasons"?
Hows about trimming some fat? How about reducing telemetry and spyware? How about not putting every stupid anti-consumer idea they can think of in there?
Screen space (Score:2)
It's all personal preference except the loss of screen space moving from the title bar. If you have enough tabs that the titles are getting lost, then maybe the extra screen space is well used. Likewise if most of the content viewed is responsively designed for a phone in a shrunken column or infinite scrolling on low resolution displays, then losing that space doesn't matter.
But in my preference, vertical tabs infringes too much on the page content especially with side-by-side snapped windows and shifts th
So..... (Score:2)
They're copying Firefox.