Chrome 78 rolling out with new customization features, forced dark mode

It will take a few weeks before Chrome 78 becomes available on Google Play for everyone.

What you need to know

• Google has released Chrome 78 for Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, and iOS.
• The latest release adds a dark theme for Chrome menus, settings, and surfaces.
• On Mac, Windows and Linux, Chrome 78 adds new customization options and a "click-to-call" feature.

Earlier this month, Google rolled out Chrome 78 beta on desktop, adding the ability to send phone numbers to Android devices. Google is now rolling out stable Chrome 78 for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS users.

Chrome 78 for Android brings a new dark theme option for all the menus, settings and surfaces. To enable the new dark theme in Chrome browser, you will need to head to the Settings menu and tap on the three-dot menu to find the new "Themes" option. Aside from the new dark theme, the latest Chrome release for Android also comes with a few stability and performance improvements. It is expected to become available for all users on Android over the next few weeks.

The latest stable channel for desktop is also expected to roll out over the coming weeks. One of the key highlights of Chrome 78 on desktop is the new customization menu for the New Tab page. The feature lets users customize the browser with several new themes and also pick their own background wallpaper. However, to try out this feature, you must first activate it from chrome://flags by enabling "NTP customization menu version 2" and Chrome Colors menu" options.

Another exciting new feature that Chrome 78 brings to the table is Forced Dark Mode, which basically lets you activate a dark mode setting even on websites that do not support a dark theme. To access this new feature, you will need to enable the chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark flag.

Some of the other new additions include an integrated Chrome Password Safety tool, Tab Hover Cards, as well as a "click-to-call" feature that makes it possible to right-click on a phone number link in Chrome browser and forward the call to an Android phone. However, users must have sync turned on for both devices in settings to use the feature.

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