Chrome finally has a better way to deal with having too many tabs open

After years of resistance, Google Chrome has finally adopted vertical tabs. This feature was recently popularized by the Arc browser, the predecessor of the AI ​​browser Dia. Google announced Tuesday that Chrome users will now have the option to enable vertical tabs. This moves tabs to the side of the browser window, making it easier to read full page titles and manage tab groups.

Once you enable vertical tabs, vertical tabs remain at their default setting until the user turns them back on.

The company is adding support for vertical tabs, along with an updated version of Reading Mode that provides a text-centric reading experience without distractions.

The changes show how increased competition from modern browsers is impacting Chrome’s development, while also potentially limiting the ability of rivals to differentiate their browsers with features that Chrome doesn’t have.

The company says the new vertical tabs can be enabled at any time by right-clicking the Chrome window and selecting “Show Tabs Vertically.” The company says there is no hard limit on the number of tabs that can be opened (beyond what is already limited by the user’s hardware). Vertical tabs work the same way as horizontal tabs. This means you can have different Chrome windows with their own set of tabs or groups of tabs.

People who prefer vertical tabs are often power users or researchers who regularly keep many tabs open in their browser, and often have trouble finding the right tab when it gets crowded. This is especially true if you tend to open multiple tabs with the same favicon from the same site.

This isn’t the first time Google has experimented with placing tabs on the side of the browser. The company has tested the feature over the past decade, but it never made it out of beta. However, this time around, development has progressed and savvy users can already turn on this option by enabling the flag in recent Chrome builds. Google’s decision to move forward is likely influenced by interest in alternative web browsers like Arc and other AI makers hoping to convince Chrome users to switch.

In recent months, Chrome has been busy rolling out updates that introduce Gemini AI integration, autofill improvements, and Split View mode, as well as announcing a faster release schedule.

The company says vertical tabs will be gradually rolled out to users in all markets.

Alongside the launch of vertical tabs, Chrome is also rolling out a new reading mode experience. This provides a full-page interface that reduces on-screen clutter and makes it even easier to focus on the text.

This will be the new default experience for Chrome users, and it comes at a time when web pages, especially those on news sites, are cluttered with ads and newsletter subscription prompts.

Ironically, the problems facing the media industry, which requires advertising overload, are influenced by the fact that Google itself is reducing traffic to publishers as AI takes hold.