Chrome 13 could introduce a compact navigation mode

Version 13 of the Chrome browser would ship a new navigation mode to optimize the display of a web page on small screens.

In February we heard that the Mountain View company was working on several concepts for its user interface. During discussions, the designers were asked about how to optimize the layout of the tabs. The blog ConceivableTech reported that the fruits of this work should be created in version 13 of Chrome.

Currently Google's browser chooses a relatively conventional interface presenting a list of open tabs, then, below the navigation buttons along the Omnibox together the functionality of the address bar and a search engine. Chrome remains on the basis of Chrome OS, that is to say an operating system targeting machines with small screens. To take full advantage of every inch, it has been suggested including a Compact navigation mode.

Once in this mode, the address bar disappears and the buttons (navigation, settings, extensions) are returned along with the open tabs. The user is then able to double-click a tab to display a small navigation bar, which will disappear automatically by moving the mouse pointer.

The main objective of the compact navigation mode is of course to provide more space to content of a web page or an online application. However, this presents some new ergonomic flaws. On one hand the presence of buttons on the tab bar could potentially reduce the number of pages opened simultaneously by the user, the tab titles become unreadable quickly. On the other hand, some believe that hiding the address bar can possibly create problems of phishing, the user is not able to verify the URL of a site or if the connection is secure.

This new option is currently being evaluated on the Canary latest builds for Windows. Note that you must activate it by typing about: flags in the Omnibox then choosing the option after right-clicking a tab.