I’m so glad Chrome is finally stealing this Safari feature

A few months ago, I wrote about a few of the things that I wanted Google to steal from Safari and add to Chrome. It’s no big deal, I figured. We voice opinions all the time, and they don’t usually go very far beyond having strangers on the internet agree with us — it’s just kind of the way it goes. This time, though, I feel like someone out there was listening, because the latest update to Chrome looks like it’s adopting the very first suggestion on my list. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to move the address bar from the top of your display to the bottom, and I couldn’t be happier.

If you’ve never tried life with the address bar at the bottom of your browser, let me tell you what — it’s a treat. I love that Android phones come with such a variety of display shapes and sizes, but there have been plenty of times when I simply can’t stretch my hand all the way up to the top of a Chrome window. Yes, I know that’s where one-handed mode is supposed to come in handy, but I don’t always love moving my entire interface back and forth, especially if I’m trying to do work on the go without getting carsick (or trainsick or planesick, which must be real phenomena).

So, when Apple moved its address bar from the top of Safari to the bottom as part of the iOS 15 launch, I fell in love almost immediately. I mean, it took a day or two for me to completely adjust to the new positioning, but it quickly became second-nature during my annual dips into iOS when reviewing iPhones. I no longer had to reach across the massive display of the iPhone 14 Plus — the last 6.7-inch iPhone I used — I could just keep my hands wrapped tightly around the bottom of its aluminum frame.

And now, it looks like Chrome is finally going to get the same level of flexibility, or at least it will soon. According to the team at 9to5Google, the bottom-mounted address bar in Chrome has been in development for Android since late last year, though it now appears to be nearing its full rollout. A few users have reported prompts to move their address bars following the Chrome 135 update, along with noticing a new section in the settings menu where you can quickly toggle the positioning back and forth. I, unfortunately, cannot count myself among those lucky few just yet, but you better believe I’ll be moving my address bar as soon as I possibly can.

By the way, Chrome has already had a version of this feature on iOS since late 2023 — probably in order to match Safari’s capabilities — so it’s about time Google brought the same convenience to its own operating system.

As mentioned above, I can’t actually move my address bar in Chrome just yet. I’m (impatiently) waiting for the day that I’ll be able to, but that won’t stop me from telling you how to do it for yourself. Before we get to the steps themselves, you’ll first want to make sure that your version of Chrome is fully up to date, so pop into the Play Store and check to see if you have an update waiting for you. If you have one, lucky you — here’s what to do next:

1. Open Chrome on your Android device
2. Tap on the three-dot icon in the top right corner
3. Press the Chrome Settings cog towards the bottom of the dropdown
4. Find the Address Bar toggle under the Basics header
5. Flip your address bar from the top of Chrome to the bottom (and maybe back again)

That’s all there is to it. If you don’t have the Address Bar toggle just yet, don’t fret. It’ll probably come as part of an update before long, but you’ll just have to wait like the rest of us in the meantime. Right now, I only have the reorganized settings menu, which splits the Basics tab into a few other sections, so I’ll just have to keep checking for the full update to arrive. When it does, I’ll be sure to add screenshots to further illustrate the steps you need to follow.

And hey, if Google has truly listened to one of my requests to pinch a feature from Safari, maybe that means more updates are on the way. I certainly hope they are, because I’d much rather use Chrome on all of my devices and have matching features across the board.