Andrew Heinzman
One of our favorite things about Windows 11 is its use of rounded corners and subtle “Mica material” transparency effects. Of course, these design elements only show up in native Windows apps. But the latest Chrome release (version 96) contains an experimental UI mode that, when enabled, makes the browser fit the Windows 11 design language.
As discovered by Windows Latest, the Chrome 96 “Windows 11” mode adds rounded corners to the browser, its context menus, and some pop-up items. Other Fluent Design elements, such as transparency effects, also show up in the “Windows 11” mode … though they’re used a bit sporadically (it seems that Google’s still working on this feature).
Interestingly, the new “Windows 11” mode works in both Windows 11 and Windows 10. If you’re a Windows 10 user with a hankering for the latest and greatest, you could enable this experimental feature to make your desktop a bit prettier.
To activate Chrome’s experimental Windows 11 mode, upgrade to the latest Chrome release (version 96 or newer) and follow these steps:
- Paste Chrome://flags in your address bar and press enter.
- Search for the “Windows 11” flag.
- Enable the flag and restart your browser.
We haven’t encountered any bugs or weird crashes with “Windows 11” mode enabled, but you may be less lucky. If Chrome acts up with this experimental UI enabled, just go back into the Chrome flags, search for “Windows 11,” and disable it.
As far as we can tell, Google is still working on Chrome’s “Windows 11” mode. It will probably gain more Fluid Design elements in a future update, and unless Google has a change of heart, “Windows 11” mode will eventually become the default UI for the Chrome browser.
Source: Windows Latest
