Chrome is about to look a bit different

Chrome on the desktop is about to get a new look. Google’s widely used browser is getting an update based on its Material You design language in the coming weeks, and in this case, it will include updated icons with “a focus on readability” and new color palettes that “better complement your tabs and toolbar”. ” according a blog post by Vice President of Chrome Parisa Tabriz.

You can get an early look at the new look in the image and GIF below. The most noticeable change to me is that things look a bit more rounded, like the new corners near the top of the window.

Chrome itself isn’t the only thing getting a new look, as Google is updating the Chrome Web Store interface with some Material You design flair (and rounded corners!) as well. Those changes are already live in public preview (as seen by 9to5Google last week), and I’ve created an image slider comparing the old style to the new one below; I think the new store looks a lot better.

Google is also making some updates to its Safe Browsing tools in Chrome to help keep you safe while browsing the web. When you navigate to a potentially dangerous site, Google currently checks that site against a list that is stored locally and is updated every 30 to 60 minutes. But in the coming weeks, it will compare the sites against Google’s list of bad sites in real time; a change could prevent you from accessing a malicious site that was created just minutes before. “By shortening the time between threat identification and prevention, we expect to see 25 percent improved protection against malware and phishing threats,” Tabriz says.