Finally, Google is testing a change to the Chrome OS Files app that focuses more on aesthetics and UI than on usefulness. In short, as shown in the recently reported screenshots, the changes center around the appearance of the left file directory in the app. This is where different folders and sections of storage, including cloud services, appear.
A noteworthy difference is in the icons. These levels have been raised slightly and give the lines somewhat thicker. But the shapes are more subtle as well, and Google adheres to Material Design 2.0 guidelines in terms of blank space patterned from the middle parts of the icons.
In addition to this change, the font used on this left panel appears to have been slightly revised.
Usability should also be improved since the cookie crumbs have been moved along the top panel to the main window instead of the sidebar. This means there's more space, combined with a slight increase in icon size, making things easier to read. This makes things easier to see without scrolling as well since it limits the space taken up by unnecessary text along the top of the panel.
The user interface for the remainder of the Files app in Chrome OS is rendered just as it was before. This creates a variation in appearance that will undoubtedly be corrected with more tests and releases in beta channels.
Any other changes coming soon?
The upcoming changes are centered around an app upgrade, following the appearance changes for much of Chrome OS. This includes recent changes made to make menus and settings flow more in line with Material Design. But it also includes a large number of changes to how Google Assistant works and functions as well as how it controls the volume.
This means that the change can be more than deep in the skin. In fact, since most of the major UI tweaks come with important behind-the-scenes changes or functionality, this can change as well. It remains to be seen only what these will be.
Meanwhile, Google has already announced, for the second time in 2019, a fairly important update to the OS. This will appear over the coming weeks and months, mostly between the current variant of Chrome OS and the next release.
Currently, there are two types of incoming file changes that are similar in scope.
The first big change to arrive via the Chrome 79 event is a change that brings playback controls to the Chrome OS lock screen. The second allows for mouse controls to speed up or not in the face of the switch.
This should arrive soon enough
Chrome 80 release starts early February and any changes to its files and UI might arrive alongside. This remains the case even though the company is testing Chrome OS version 81 because changes can be completed by then. The maximum major changes to Chrome 80 will happen in late January.
At the latest, changes to the landing will be made near the mid-March time frame. After that, Chrome OS 81 is expected to run around March 24th. At the moment, only file changes can be found in the Canary Channel. They are placed behind the "# files-ng" flag in the Chrome beta menu: // flags.
Chrome OS 81 Files app gets a material redesign
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