Android’s overview menu no longer displays Chrome tabs alongside apps by default

Google has just made a small but noticeable tweak to the overall look of Android.

Since the release of Lollipop, Chrome browser tabs have by default sat alongside dedicated apps within the operating system’s overview menu. However, with Google’s latest update to its web browser, version 49, that is no longer the case. Now, Chrome is back to its original pre-Lollipop behaviour; switching tabs is once again done within Chrome itself (see the difference in the image above).

At least, that’s the case with newly activated phones, or ones that have been recently reset. For those with an Android phone that’s been active for a while, tabs will sit still beside other apps — that is, if the user hasn’t already told Chrome to revert to its old behaviour.

First noted by Android Central, and since confirmed by multiple other websites, I’ve since had a chance to confirm the change as well after reseting one of the devices we have at our office.

While Google has yet to comment on why it made this change, the company may have decided mixing in tabs with apps in the overview menu made finding a specific tab more complicated than it needed to be.

It’s also worth noting this change brings Google Chrome on Android back in line with its counterpart on iOS.

[source] Android Central [/source][via] The Verge [/via]