If you use Chrome for Android, it’s time to wave goodbye to finger gymnastics

It took Google far longer than it ought to have, but the company has finally made it possible to relocate Chrome’s address bar to the bottom of the screen on Android. When enabled, this tweak shifts not only the search bar itself, but also the home page shortcut, the new tab button, the open tabs button, and the ellipsis (three-dot) menu button.

The reason why this bottom-justified interface is such a useful addition comes down to practicality. It’s simply easier to interact with content placed near the bottom of a smartphone display, as it’s within the portion of the screen that can be swiped and tapped at without the need to perform finger gymnastics.

Chrome’s existing top-justified UI is a relic of a long-gone era in mobile computing, back when the original iPhone’s 3.5-inch display panel was considered comically oversized by consumers and industry analysts alike. In the years since, Apple has relocated Safari’s address bar to the bottom of the iPhone’s screen, and even Microsoft jumped on the bottom bandwagon, going as far back as Internet Explorer Mobile 9 running on Windows Phone 7.

Google has actually supported the now-ubiquitous bottom address bar placement on the iOS version of Chrome since 2023, making its fashionably late entrance to the Android party a head-scratching decision to say the least.

How to move Chrome’s address bar placement

Thankfully, you don’t have to dig through any settings to reposition the address bar

To switch Chrome’s address bar to the bottom of your screen, follow these steps:

1. Ensure you’re running the latest version of Google Chrome for Android (version 135.0.7049.80 or newer).
2. Launch the Chrome app from your home screen or app drawer.
3. Long press on the address bar, which is located at the top of the screen by default.
4. Tap on Move address bar to the bottom, and the entire UI will shift to the bottom of your screen.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point, Google altered Chrome’s address bar position to be at the bottom of the interface by default. It’s an objectively superior placement that enhances accessibility on mobile, without introducing any inherent downsides or compromises in the process. It’s surprising that it’s taken the company this long to bring the feature to its own home-grown operating system, but, as they say, better late than never.