Brave rolled out a new update on Android a few days ago as version 1.96.59. We already covered what’s new in this release for desktop users, but now it’s time to look at what the company has in store for its Android app.
According to the official changelog on the Play Store, the main highlight of the update is the ability to turn off Tab Groups.
Before the update, you only had two options in the ‘Tabs and tab groups’ settings menu: Move to inactive section and Automatically open tab groups from other devices.
There’s one important caveat, though—the feature is gradually rolling out to users. So even if you’re on the latest Brave version, you might not see the option. Brave says, “Initially, this will not be available to all users. It will be rolled out in phases.”
We aren’t seeing the toggle on three separate Android devices. So you might just have to wait for the option to show up in the following weeks.
Other than the Tab Groups toggle, v1.96.59 is said to improve picture-in-picture mode. In our real-world testing, we didn’t quite find any major changes or improvements compared to the previous version. So we’ll have to take the company’s word for it on that one.
Another thing that hasn’t changed much, despite the changelog saying otherwise, is the browser’s look and feel. It’s more or less the same as before, even when you compare it side by side with an older version.
Beyond that, the update bumps the browser’s Chromium version to 154.0.8037.58, up from 153.0.8010.53. The latest Chromium patch brings over 100 security fixes, so it’s nice to know your browser is protected against the latest threats.
That said, an earlier update to the Brave browser on Android brought ‘Dynamic colors’ to the app’s appearance settings. You can read more about that here. Meanwhile, if you’ve got the toggle to turn off Tab Groups, feel free to let us know by tagging us on X with a screenshot of the setting in question.
Dwayne Cubbins
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I cover fast-moving stories across apps, online platforms, and everyday tech — phones, wearables, consoles, and whatever else people are fighting with this week. Bugs, rollouts, scams, policy enforcement, and the occasional internet-culture rabbit hole are all fair game. My goal is simple — make confusing tech news readable. When I'm not working, I'm working out or chilling with my dog. Got a tip? You can find me on X @dcubbins.