Experimental Chrome Feature Hides URLs
Today, a Canary build of Google Chrome removed something kind of important from the browser: the URL.
Of course it still supports them, but the time where users actually see URLs is ending. With Chrome’s “Enable origin chip in Omnibox” flag, Location becomes a write-only field. Clicking there no longer reveals the URL for the user to edit or share, but instead waits for you to search Google.
iOS 7 Safari made strides in this area, although I’m not sure whether the change is a reflection of Apple’s (new) attitude toward URLs or a visual choice to reduce visual clutter on a small screen. I’m very interested to see if Safari on OS X will adopt this presentation.