Google Chrome’s Experimental Downloads UI Gets Tweaked

Reddit user Leopeva64-2 has announced a long-awaited extension of the experimental Download interface in Google Chrome. The first one of two expected improvements has finally arrived. This is an active download indicator, added to the UI to signalize that a download is in progress and help the user track this process.

The new status icon, which looks like a progress ring that fills as more data is downloaded, appears around the regular Download button. When the download currently in progress is complete, it gets replaced by an interactive element. This is a button with an arrow pointing to a tray below it. In the current version, it doesn’t change its blue color when the downloading is done; however, Google has promised a color-shifting feature as part of further updates to Chrome’s UI. This will make the button turn gray when you click it. Alternatively, it will grow gray after about a minute from the time the item is downloaded.

The new Download button takes you to the list of your most recent downloads. The same interface contains a button that leads you to items downloaded less recently in case you want to check your download history. Before the update came out, the button just wasn’t interactive. That is, signalizing a complete download was its only function.

Unfortunately, the current edition of the Downloads UI doesn’t include familiar features like Open When Done or Show in Folder. We do expect them to arrive with later updates, though. The bottom Downloads bar remains the default in the meanwhile. Remember that the new UI is only experimental at the moment.

How do you feel about the latest tweaks? Do you find the status button useful, or would you rather stick to the old bar? Share your opinion in the comment section down below.