From channels to flags and A/B tests, Google has a whole host of ways to test new Chrome features before they launch for all users. Chrome is now getting an “Experiments” pane, marked by a new becker icon, right in the main UI to make it easier to test new features and send feedback.
Between the Extensions list and your profile avatar in the top-right corner of the browser, Google will soon show a new icon. After tapping the becker, you’ll get a curated list of Experiments that the Chrome team wants to get more feedback on during the development process.
At the moment, this includes the “Reading list” that was announced on Tuesday with a revamp of Chrome Profiles, Tab Search — which is available on Chrome OS but still coming to desktops, and Tab Scrolling. The latter lets you have the tab strip “scroll left and right when full.” All are very user-facing/enhancing and prominent.
There’s an explanation of each capability with a dropdown to turn on and a “Send Feedback” button. This is essentially the chrome://flags interface but in an easier to understand and more accessible, manner.
Namely, it’s less intimidating and reduces the chance of end users enabling an unintended feature that could negatively impact the browsing experience. It also reminds them of the test features they have enabled and what to disable in case something breaks.
This feature is currently live in the Canary channel (Chrome 91) and will be coming to the Dev and Beta channels.
More about Google Chrome:
- Google Chrome moving to 4-week update cycle for faster feature rollouts
- Chrome 89 rolling out: Reading list, Tab Search, Profiles redesign, and more
- Google surfacing lightweight HTML5 games in Discover, Chrome around the world
- Chrome OS screen recording tool coming in March, 40 education Chromebooks set for this year
Author: Abner Li
Source: 9TO5Google
