Andy Walker / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Chrome for Android’s bottom address bar is rolling out widely.
- Users now have the option to keep the bar at the top of the screen or lower it to the bottom.
Google is giving Android Chrome users another way to customize their mobile browsing experience. Announced last month, the Android browser is finally getting a bottom address bar to make navigation a little more mobile-friendly. That update is now rolling out widely.
If you’ve been waiting for Chrome on Android to get a bottom bar, today is the day your wishes have been answered. In the latest version (version 138) of Chrome, you should now see an option to move the address bar to the bottom of the page. If you’re not seeing it yet, you may have to go into App info and force stop the app a couple of times.
Once it’s available, you should see a notification near the address bar as soon as you start browsing. This notification reads, “You can touch and hold to move the address bar to the bottom.” Following those directions will open a new menu where you can “Move address bar to the bottom” or “Copy link.” Tapping on the former will automatically move the bar to the bottom of the screen.
There’s also a second way to move the address bar. This alternative method requires you to tap on the three-dot menu, scroll down to Settings, and find the new “Address bar” option. Tapping on this option will open a page where you can choose top or bottom.
We have already tried the new bottom browser experience and found it to be a bit of a mixed bag. Our own Andy Walker notes some of the quirks keeping this experience from being as good as it should be. Of course, if you don’t like having a bottom address bar, you can continue using the traditional layout. But it’s always nice to have the option to switch.
