Better late than never – Google Chrome has finally received one of its most anticipated features: Vertical Tabs. The feature has been available on Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge for years. With this addition, tabs will no longer shrink into tiny chips – instead, they can be neatly placed in a sidebar, making each tab easy to read and navigate.
According to a Google blog post, Vertical Tabs have begun rolling out to all Chrome users. Since the rollout is in its early stage, the feature may not be immediately visible to everyone – but it should reach all users within the coming days. The feature started rolling out in Chrome 146, so you need to make sure that you’re using the right version.
Update Chrome to v146 or later
Before enabling Vertical Tabs, make sure your Chrome is updated to the latest available version. If you’re on the older version, simply update Chrome to v146 or newer, and you can enable the vertical tabs once done. Here are the steps for updating Chrome to latest version.
Step 1: Open Google Chrome on your PC.
Step 2: Click the three-dots icon at the top right corner.
Step 3: Choose Help and then Click About Chrome.
Step 4: If there’s an update available, Chrome will automatically start downloading it and ask you to relaunch the browser. Tap on it.
Steps to Enable Vertical Tabs in Google Chrome
Vertical Tabs feature is still in rollout phase, meaning the feature is officially not yet available to everyone. First, we will take a look at the official method to enable the feature, or in case the feature is not available for your device, you can force enable it with Chrome Flags, which we will check later.
Step 1: Open any Tab in Google Chrome.
Step 2: Right-click on any tab and select Show Tabs Vertically.
Step 3: That’s it. Your tabs will now appear in the vertical sidebar instead of the traditional horizontal bar.
If you want to disable the feature, click the menu option and toggle off Show Tabs Vertically.
Force Enable Vertical Tabs with Chrome Flags
If the feature is not officially out on your device, you can simply enable it with Chrome Flags. But make sure the Chrome is updated to version 146 or later. Here are the steps.
Step 1: Open Google Chrome and go to chrome://flags/
Step 2: In the Search bar, type Vertical Tabs.
Step 3: From the drop-down menu, choose Enabled instead of the Default option.
Step 4: Now relaunch the browser.
Now you can simply right-click on any tab and enable the Vertical Tabs layout in Chrome. You can also change the tab layout from Settings > Appearance > Tab position.
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