Google brings Material You to desktops via Chrome Canary browser
Google's Material You theming engine is now available for Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, and Linux, after being exclusive to the Android operating system for a while now. While Google's own platforms did get some taste of the new interface, it can now be experienced across all desktops via the latest Chrome Canary version (110). To recall, Material You was introduced last year alongside Android 12.
Why does this story matter?
Material You has been spreading to numerous Android apps since its launch. But being exclusive to Android, the dynamic theming engine was always restricted from being released for other operating systems. But now, it has become a reality on desktops. Currently, you can test it by downloading Chrome Canary. The theming engine's rollout for the stable browser version is expected to happen soon.
You should have Chrome Canary to experience Material You
If you want to experience the Material You theming engine on your desktop, having Chrome Canary is a must. Canary is an experimental version of Chrome browser, which is targeted at developers, seasoned techies, and browser enthusiasts, who use it to test new features, APIs, changes, and flags. General users can also download Canary to get a taste of where Chrome might be heading.
How to make the dynamic theming engine work on desktop?
Material You works a little differently on the desktop than on Android. The dynamic theming engine takes on the dominant colors from the wallpaper you choose for your new tab page. Once you have downloaded Chrome Canary, you need to enable the chrome://flags/#customize-chrome-color-extraction flag, to make this work. Later, you can disable the flag to get a different color for address bar and tab.
Material You may arrive for stable browser version soon
At present, Material You can only be experienced by users who have access to Chrome Canary on their desktops. However, a broader rollout for this dynamic theming engine is expected to happen soon.
