Google introduced its Material You dynamic color engine alongside Android 12 in 2021. In 2023, the wallpaper-based design language is finally moving to more places, and Google is working to bring it to Chrome on desktops and ChromeOS. On the latest Dev version of Google’s laptop operating system, 114, it’s finally possible to choose your favorite background colors yourself – if you set a flag or if you’re lucky enough to be in the A/B test, that want to say .
When using the latest version of ChromeOS Dev 114, you can now download the #jelly colors And #personalization jelly flags to make available four different accent color schemes, including a switch to disable background color matching altogether. This lines up exactly with Android 12, which also only offered four different accent colors instead of the 16 different color derivation methods offered by Android 13. Also, unlike Android, you don’t get a selection of default colors that aren’t derived from your background, which can be a bummer for some who may want their wallpaper to look different from their interface.
The custom colors were previously enabled by Chrome Unboxed in January, but it’s only now becoming more widely available and without the need for a workaround.
The new theming capabilities are best used in conjunction with the #chrome-refresh-2023 flag, which triggers the upcoming desktop Chrome redesign that provides a few more places for the new colors to appear.
You got a glimpse of the Material You theme before this flag became functional. With the Jelly Colors flag enabled, ChromeOS pulls the default Material You color set from the currently selected wallpaper, immersing your interface in the dominant colors available. With the new tweak, it’s now possible to select your preferred color derivation engine, giving you just a little more control over how your Material You-themed Chromebook should look.
Now that the Material You color picker is functional in ChromeOS 114, we expect Google to announce the major redesign of ChromeOS onstage at Google I/O later this month. After all, the color picker was the last remaining piece of the puzzle that will complete the planned 2023 redesign for the operating system. Two years after the release of Material You on Android, we don’t have to wait long for more Google services.
Thanks: Hamzah