Vertical Tab Controls

Google Chrome Adds Vertical Tabs as Optional Feature for Convenience

Google introduced an optional vertical tabs feature for Chrome, giving users a side-mounted tab strip designed to surface full page titles and simplify tab group management. The rollout arrived alongside a refreshed Reading Mode, with vertical tabs available via a right-click option labeled "Show Tabs Vertically."

The update preserves existing tab behaviors—separate windows keep independent tab sets and there is no new hard cap on open tabs beyond hardware limits. Chrome said the change followed testing and earlier flag-based access, and it coincided with other recent updates like Gemini AI integration and Split View.

For multitasking users and researchers who juggle many pages, vertical tabs make finding and organizing sessions faster and reduce horizontal clutter. By adopting a layout popularized by alternative browsers, Chrome narrowed a key UX gap while keeping familiar tab mechanics consumers expect.

Open at source ↗