Two Complaints I Have About Google Chrome on Android

I have never been a fan of Google Chrome. In fact, the default browser on my PC is Firefox, which I regard as a far superior browser. That having been said, on my smartphone I use Chrome. I don't use my phone that much and it simply didn't seem that important to me to install another browser. That having been said, I might just install Firefox on my phone and make it the default browser there as well if Google does not address two complaints I have with Chrome at the moment.

My first complaint is with something Google calls "tab groups." In the past, tabs on Chrome on Android were displayed in a vertical layout. With tab groups the tabs are displayed in a grid layout. Supposedly "tab groups" are supposed to make it easier to manage and organize tabs, but to me it seems obvious that the exact opposite is the case. Quite simply, tab groups and the grid layout makes it harder to manage tabs. There was a way to disable "tab groups" in Chrome on Android under chrome://flags, but sadly it seems to no longer work.

It would seem that I am not the only one who detests tab groups and the grid layout. I did a search for "Chrome android tab groups" and except for the top result (Google's support page for tabs in Chrome on Android) every single result on the first page is related to disabling and even outright hating "tab groups." Honestly, if Google wants people to continue using Chrome on their phones, they had best restore the means to disable tab groups.

The other complaint I have about Chrome on my smart phone is that "search Google for image.." has been replaced by "search with Google Lens." If you are wondering what Google Lens is, it's a image recognition technology that Google introduced in 2017.  If you click on "search with Google Lens," it will open up a page identifying who or what is in the photo, the top match in Google and the top few matches in Google Image Search. It only after one clicks on a a link in the bottom that says "Didn't find what you were looking for? Retry with Google Images." Now quite frankly, if I am searching for different sizes of an image, I do not need the top result on Google and I want more than the top four results on Google Image Search. In other words, I want to be able to search with Google Image Search to begin with. Sadly, there was once a way to disable Google Lens in chrome://flags, but it appears to no longer work.

Now I have no idea how unpopular taking away "search Google for image..." and replacing it with "search with Google Lens" is. I do know there are several pages which explain how to disable Google Lens in Chrome on one's phone, something that no longer works. Regardless, I know I do not like it and for those times when I do want to perform a search for an image on Chrome on my phone, I simply scroll to the bottom and try the search in Google Images. It would be much easier if Google simply restored the ability to disable Google Lens in chrome://flags.

Anyway, I have sent Google feedback on both tab groups and Google Lens. I am hoping others will do the same. As it is, if Google does not correct this two complains I have with Chrome on my smartphone, Firefox might soon become the default browser on my phone as well as my PC.