Chrome New Tab Page replacements aren’t exactly hard to come by, offering to add to-do lists, weather report and even interactive social features to what is, for many, an otherwise boring start page.
But what if you don’t want anything extra; what if you just want to see something supremely simple every time you open a new tab? Enter Embark, a New Tab Page replacement for Google Chrome that swaps the Google search box and top sites grid out for what it calls a “hyper minimalistic” design.
Embark Feature Is Its Lack Thereof
Embark doesn’t do much. It features HQ photography (with more than 40 images available, which change on each refresh) and a simple set of customisation options.
Its maker, James Moss, explained the reasoning for its creation in an e-mail to us: “Frustrated with the bloat, lack of customisation, poor photography and slow loading speeds of similar new tab extensions I built my own.”
On the performance angle James has a point. Pinterest’s new tab page is fairly resource hungry and will continue to run in the background even when there is no New Tab Page open.
While I don’t find the incumbent design, white background with search box and a small set of top sites tiles, distracting I do appreciate the zen-like sentiment Embark pursues.
Options include:
- Show time
- Animate time separator
- Adjust opacity of time and border
- Show date
- Set custom date format
- Set date position
Embark is fast and light on resources. While it doesn’t offer enough to sway power users, those with an eye for design and desire for serenity should love it. It is available as a free download from the Chrome Web Store.