While the Tab Groups feature is pretty useful to a lot of users on desktop, the Chrome for Android version leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not as intuitive as the desktop version and a lot of users have been requesting to disable this feature by filing bug reports. Google has responded to this by saying that they are experimenting with bringing changes to the mobile version based on how people are using it and the feedback they have received from users.
Google is bringing two new changes to the Tab Groups feature on Chrome Beta version 94 as per 9 to 5 Google. They are hoping that mobile users will warm up to the feature once these changes are implemented. The first one will open links that are set to open in a new page to an actual new tab. Currently, links like these were automatically created as a grouped tab when you open it, which some people find really annoying. It will be going back to the previous automatic action, opening as a new, non-grouped tab.
The second change they’re bringing to the Chrome Beta is that you’ll now see an “open in new tab” option which disappeared when Tab Groups were introduced. You’ll still see “Open in new tab in group” as the first option but at least you now have the option to bypass that. Users will still be able to create a Tab Group by dragging-and-dropping one page over the other when you’re in the grid-based tab switcher.
Tab Groups are actually really useful as you will be able to organize and manage all your open tabs. But making it the “default” when you’re on Chrome for Android didn’t do it any favors since it was not as intuitive as the desktop version. With these two changes, at least users will only see the Tab Group if they create it themselves and not as the default setting anymore. Hopefully, this does make things better for mobile users and that Google will bring more changes eventually to improve it.
Remember these two changes are only available in the Chrome for Android Beta and not yet the stable version. They may launch it later this month but if you want to see it already, you have to download the Chrome Beta.
