The Google Chrome browser was originally launched designed to be a slick, fast, responsive and uncluttered browser experience for customers on the desktop or laptop platform. Over time, it has evolved into the core of Google’s Chrome OS platform, which is used for the Chromebook and Chromebox devices, and the Android version of the application was released shortly after the Samsung-made Galaxy Nexus in late 2011. Over the years, Google have steadily improved the Chrome browser on all platforms including Android and it has become the default, pre-installed browser on many smartphones (sometimes accompanied with another browser). Google have two versions of the Android browser available in the Google Play Store, one being the beta or test version and one being the stable version. Google have just released Chrome v49 into the stable platform and it will be available, via the Google Play Store, in the next day or so for those customers using compatible devices. The new version of the Android Chrome browser follows the desktop platforms (Windows, Mac and LINUX) being updated earlier in the month.
In Google’s blog post, they describe the number of improvements as “a barge full.” Mostly, these centre around bug fixes, improved performance and stability. These include improvements to the background data synchronisation features of the Chrome browser. Google have implemented the new MediaRecorder API (Application Programmable Interface), which is designed for recording audio and video without a new plugin for the browser, and notifications for nearby smart (location) beacons and the Nearby API. One of the cornerstones of the performance improvements include better JavaScript code, which Google says now has 91% support for a major Google V8 engine update.
Google’s support for smart, location, beacons means that our Chrome browser application on our device could provide us with notifications as we are close to a location containing a beacon – this could something such as a landmark to a drinks machine, fast food joint or similar. This technology is called Eddystone by Google and was announced in 2015; Eddystone is already in use at showrooms and sports arenas where the technology helps with navigation, but supporting the platform in the Chrome Browser will open up a potentially huge userbase thanks to the number of devices with the browser installed.