Ever since Chrome launched on Android there has been speculation on when the Android version will catch up to its Big Brother on the Desktop. There’s no denying that the two both look and act similarly, but the Android version is quite a few builds behind that of the Desktop version now. This isn’t to say that the Android version of Chrome is old hat already but, it isn’t necessarily up-to-date and considering the Desktop version of the browser got a bit of a speed boost and better memory consumption – we’d like a piece of that on our smartphones and our tablets.
Now though, it looks like Google will be aligning releases of Chrome across all platforms – including Android – starting at the beginning of next year. When asked about the age of the Android version on Google+ a user got the following reply:
Q. Chrome for Android is still at v18, while regular Chrome is at v23. When will Chrome for Android catch up?
A. Soon! We expect an update to Chrome for Android starting with a developer update to happen before the end of the year, and we’re actively working towards aligning releases across all platforms, including Android, starting early next year.
I have little reason to doubt the Chrome Dev team, while they have been somewhat secretive in the past, if they say such a thing is coming then, who am I to say otherwise? What I will say is that aligning releases across all platforms could be a very smart move for Google. After all, it’d be brilliant to market Android tablets with “the same browser as a pc”.
Web browsing has come on leaps and bounds on tablets and smartphones but, to market a device as having the same online experience as your Desktop would be a massive boon for Google. It’s not like it wouldn’t be a good thing internally either, with a more streamlined development Google would be able to closely control and monitor the entire Chrome project; bringing Android and the Chrome OS team closer together would also be beneficial. A lot of folks are calling for Google to double down on Android and ditch Chrome OS however, I think they should keep both very much alive. With Chrome, Google could crush Apple when it comes to the web. The search giant has a massive presence on the web as it is and if they become the de facto company to experience the web through – phone, tablet, laptop, chromebook, whatever – they could steal some serious market share back from Apple.
What do you think? Do you think the Android and Chrome teams should talk more often or are they both fine as they are?
[Source: Android Police]