Google has been steadily polishing Chrome’s vertical tabs experience ever since the feature officially rolled out earlier this year. While the company initially focused on bringing the long-requested browsing layout to users, development hasn’t stopped there, with Chromium engineers continuing to iron out rough edges and introduce new usability improvements.

One of the biggest complaints from early adopters was that using vertical tabs often felt slower than expected. Some users also pointed out that, unlike many other browser actions, there wasn’t a convenient keyboard shortcut for collapsing or expanding the vertical tab strip. Every interaction required reaching for the mouse.

Thankfully, Google is now addressing that limitation.

Chrome Canary is getting a new keyboard shortcut for vertical tabs

A new Chromium code change reveals that Google has implemented a dedicated keyboard shortcut for collapsing and expanding the vertical tab panel. According to the commit, Ctrl + Shift + L on Windows and Linux (or Command + Shift + L on macOS) will toggle the vertical tab strip between its collapsed and expanded states. The shortcut will be used to collapse or expand the vertical tab strip, while also updating the macOS View menu to display the new shortcut.

This addition was first spotted by well-known Chromium observer Leopeva64, who has been tracking Google’s ongoing work on vertical tabs since the feature was still in development. Interestingly, vertical tabs feature isn’t currently available in the stable version of Chrome for me, and depending on your Canary build, it may still be hidden behind an experimental flag while Google continues testing it before a wider rollout.

Another feature Microsoft Edge still doesn’t have

Interestingly, this is another area where Chrome is beginning to distinguish itself from Microsoft Edge. Although Edge has supported vertical tabs for years and arguably popularized the feature among Chromium browsers, it still doesn’t provide a dedicated keyboard shortcut for collapsing and expanding the vertical tab pane.

For users who frequently switch between keyboard and mouse while working with dozens of open tabs, this seemingly small addition could noticeably improve day-to-day productivity.

But this isn’t the only enhancement Google has lined up. Back in March, Leopeva64 also discovered that Chromium developers were working on automatically expanding the vertical tab panel when you hover your mouse over it. The company also introduced a new setting in Chrome’s Appearance page that lets users decide whether the vertical tab strip should automatically expand on hover. That level of customization is something Microsoft Edge surprisingly still doesn’t offer, despite users requesting the option for quite some time.

Google has added a new setting to the Appearance page that lets you choose whether or not Chrome's vertical tab panel auto-expands when you hover over it. This is significant because Edge still does not offer this option despite numerous user requests 🤷:https://t.co/QJpVABSq8v pic.twitter.com/ypBrUAUFan
— Leopeva64 (@Leopeva64) March 26, 2026

It’s a subtle but meaningful quality-of-life improvement that gives users more control over how the browser behaves.

Vertical tabs continue gaining momentum across browsers

Google’s continued investment in vertical tabs reflects a broader trend happening across the browser landscape. Last month, the open-source Ladybird browser also added support for vertical tabs as part of its ongoing interface development. Meanwhile, Chrome on Android is preparing an entirely different redesign centered around vertical tabs, signalling that Google sees the layout as an important part of Chrome’s future across both desktop and mobile devices.

These developments suggest that vertical tabs are no longer just a niche productivity feature aimed at power users but a standard browsing experience that browser makers are actively refining.

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