Google Chrome has offered a full-screen mode on computers for a long time. However, the way to access and close has never been particularly standard across all platforms. However, that may be changing as Google has introduced a flag that gives you an easy-to-use keyboard shortcut to exit full-screen mode in Chrome. It's much more intuitive than the different options currently available.
Google will simplify full-screen mode on Chrome
The new shortcut may be available for testing soon. Google added the flag to chrome://flags/#press-and-hold-esc-to-exit-browser-fullscreen and the name is pretty self-explanatory in Chrome Canary 124, as spotted by @Leopeva64 in X. The accompanying description says: “Allows users to press and hold the Esc key to exit the browser in full screen.” Although the flag is currently not functional, it will likely be available on all desktop platforms.
Currently, accessing and exiting full-screen mode works differently on different platforms. In Windows, you need to press F11, which may need to be combined with the Fn button or another combination, depending on your keyboard. This can make exiting and entering difficult. On macOS, you need to use the system-default Cmd+Ctrl+F shortcut, which some people who just want to quickly exit the full screen may not be familiar with.
Making it possible to press and hold the Esc key makes the shortcut consistent across platforms and offers a single-button option rather than a multi-key combination that can be less intuitive. A press and hold option for Chrome wouldn't be entirely new either. To completely close Chrome on macOS, you already need to press and hold Cmd+Q by default (although you can also double-tap the combination).
With the non-functional flag, we don't know exactly how mandatory the new keyboard shortcut will be. It may coexist with the existing way to open and close full-screen mode, but it may also replace existing shortcuts on Mac and Windows. Only time will tell how this situation will unfold.