Google Chrome for Android

Main article: Google Chrome

Google Chrome for Android

Developer(s)	Google
Initial release	June 27, 2012 (2012-06-27)
Stable release	Android (ARM, x86) 41.0.2272.92 (March 11, 2015 (2015-03-11)) [±]
Development status	Current
Operating system	Android 4.0 or above
Engines	Blink, V8
Type	Web browser
Website	www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/android/

Google's Chrome for Android is an edition of Google Chrome released for the Android system. On February 7, 2012, Google launched Google Chrome Beta for Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) devices, for selected countries. The first stable version of the browser was released on June 27, 2012. Chrome 18.0.1026311, released on September 26, 2012 was the first version of Chrome for Android to support Intel x86 based mobile devices.

§Features

'Google Chrome Beta' for Android devices was available for devices running the Android 4 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or above version of the operating system. It was launched on February 7, 2012, for a limited number of countries. The Android version can be installed from Google Play. It currently lacks some features available in the desktop version, but has some additional features:

• Synchronization with desktop Chrome to provide the same bookmarks and view the same browser tabs.
• Page pre-rendering
• Hardware acceleration
• Many of the latest HTML5 features to the Android platform, almost all of the Web Platform’s features: GPU-accelerated canvas, including CSS 3D Transforms, CSS animations, SVG, WebSocket (including binary messages), Dedicated Workers; it has overflow scroll support, strong HTML5 video support, and new capabilities such as IndexedDB, WebWorkers, Application Cache and the File APIs, date and time pickers, parts of the Media Capture API. Also supports mobile oriented features such as Device Orientation and Geolocation.
• Tabs can be switched with a swipe gesture.
• Link Preview allows zooming in on (multiple) links so as to ensure clicking on the right one.
• Font Boosting is used when text on the website is too small to be read properly. It uses an algorithm to increase font sizes when necessary, aiming to make the text readable regardless of the zoom level.
• Remote debugging
• Data usage reduction. When this feature is turned on, Chrome will use google servers to compress pages before downloading them. SSL and incognito pages will not be included. (Introduced in Version 29.0.1547)
• No support for Safe Browsing
• Chrome apps and extensions are not supported.
• Does not support Adobe Flash and will not do so in the future
• Does not support Native Client
• Part of the browser layer has been implemented in Java, communicating with the rest of the Chromium and Blink code through Java Native Bindings.

The code of Chrome for Android is a fork of the Chromium project. One of the top priorities is upstreaming most new and modified code to Chromium and WebKit to resolve the fork.

On June 27, 2012 Google Chrome for Android exited beta and became stable.

Chrome 18.0.1026311, released at September 26, 2012 was the first version of Chrome for Android to support Intel x86 based mobile devices.

Google brought Chrome for Android in line with the desktop version with Chrome 25. They released a separate Chrome for Android beta channel on January 10, 2013, it runs side-by-side with the stable channel for Android.

§Release history

Click "show" to expand the release history table, or click the "edit" link within the title bar below to update the table.

Release history   [edit]

Discontinued Stable Channel Beta Channel Dev Channel Major version Release date Layout engine V8 engine version Significant changes 0.2.149 2008-09-02 WebKit 522 0.3 First release. 0.3.154 2008-10-29 Improved plugin performance and reliability. Spell checking for input fields. Improved web proxy performance and reliability. Tab and window management updates. 0.4.154 2008-11-24 WebKit 525 Bookmark manager with import and export support. Privacy section added to the application options. New blocked popup notification. 1.0.154 2008-12-11 WebKit 528 First stable release. 2.0.172 2009-05-24 WebKit 530 0.4 35% faster JavaScript on the SunSpider benchmark. Mouse wheel support. Full-screen mode. Full-page zoom. Form auto-fill. Sort bookmarks by title. Tab docking to browser and desktop edges. Basic Greasemonkey support. 3.0.195 2009-10-12 WebKit 532 1.2 New "new tab" page for improved customization. 25% faster JavaScript. HTML5 video and audio tag support. Lightweight theming. 4.0.249 2010-01-25 WebKit 532.5 1.3 Extensions. Bookmark synchronization. Enhanced developer tools. Improved HTML5 support. Performance improvements. Full ACID3 pass. HTTP byte range support. Experimental new anti-reflected-XSS feature called "XSS Auditor". 4.1.249 2010-03-17 Translate infobar. New privacy features. Disabled XSS Auditor. 5.0.375 2010-05-21 WebKit 533 2.1 Browser preference synchronizing. Increased HTML5 support (Geolocation API, App Cache, web sockets, and file drag-and-drop). Revamped bookmark manager. Adobe Flash Player integrated. First stable releases for Mac OS X, 32 bit Linux, and 64 bit Linux. 6.0.472 2010-09-02 WebKit 534.3 2.2 Updated and more streamlined UI with simplified Omnibox. New tab page. Merged menu buttons. Form auto-fill. Expanded synchronization support to include extensions and auto-fill data. Support for WebM videos. Built-in PDF support (disabled by default). 7.0.517 2010-10-21 WebKit 534.7 2.3.11 Implemented HTML5 parsing algorithm. File API. Directory upload via input tag. OS X version gained AppleScript support for UI automation. Late binding enabled for SSL sockets: high priority SSL requests are now always sent to the server first. New options for managing cookies. Updated New Tab page to enable featuring of web applications. 8.0.552 2010-12-02 WebKit 534.10 2.4.9 Chrome Web Store. Built-in PDF viewer that works inside Chrome's sandbox for increased security. Expanded synchronization support to include web applications. Improved plug-in handling. This release added "about:flags" to showcase experimental features such as Chrome Instant, side tabs on Windows, tabbed settings, Click to Play , background web applications, Remoting , Disable outdated plug-ins , XSS Auditor , Cloud Print Proxy , GPU-accelerated compositing, WebGL support for the canvas element, and a "tab overview" mode (like Exposé) for OS X. 9.0.597 2011-02-03 WebKit 534.13 2.5.9 WebGL enabled by default. Adobe Flash sandboxing on Windows and Chrome Instant (a la Google Instant) option. WebP support. New flags: print preview, GPU-accelerated compositing, GPU-accelerated Canvas 2D, Google Native Client, CRX-less Web Apps, Web page prerendering, experimental Extension APIs, disable hyperlink auditing. 10.0.648 2011-03-08 WebKit 534.16 3.0.12 Google Cloud Print sign-in interface enabled by default. Partially implemented sandboxing of the GPU process. Faster JavaScript performance due to incorporation of Crankshaft, an improved compiler for V8. Settings pages that open in a tab, rather than a dialog box. Malware reporting and disabling outdated plugins. Password sync. GPU accelerated video. Background WebApps. webNavigation extension API. 11.0.696 2011-04-27 WebKit 534.24 3.1.8 HTML5 Speech Input API. Updated icon. 12.0.742 2011-06-07 WebKit 534.30 3.2.10 Hardware accelerated 3D CSS. New Safe Browsing protection against downloading malicious files. Ability to delete Flash cookies from inside Chrome. Launch Apps by name from the Omnibox. Integrated Sync into new settings pages. Improved screen reader support. New warning when hitting Command-Q on Mac. New flags: P2P API. Existing tab on foreground on open. Experimental new tab page. Add grouping to tab context menu. Run PPAPI Flash in the renderer process. Multiple Profiles. Removed Google Gears. Print and Save buttons in the PDF viewer. 13.0.782 2011-08-02 WebKit 535.1 3.3.10 Instant Pages (pre-rendering of Web pages). Native print interface and preview (Linux and Windows only). Experimental new tab page. Experimental Restrict Instant To Search option. 14.0.835 2011-09-16 3.4.14 Native Client (NaCl) enabled for apps in the Chrome Web Store. Web Audio API. Additional Mac OS X Lion feature support. Sync Encryption for all data. Print preview on Mac. Validation of HTTPS sites. Experimental Web Request extension API. Experimental Content Settings extension API. 15.0.874 2011-10-25 WebKit 535.2 3.5.10 Faster print preview. Redesigned new tab page on by default. JavaScript fullscreen API enabled by default. Inline installation of Chrome Web Store items by verified sites. Omnibox History synchronization. Switched to FFmpeg native VP8 decoder. Extensions integrated into settings pages. GPU Accelerated Canvas 2D disabled. 16.0.912 2011-12-13 WebKit 535.7 3.6.6 Multiple profiles on by default. Optional permissions in Chrome extensions, so the user can opt-in or opt-out of the optional permissions at installation time. Experimental support for side tabs was removed. 17.0.963 2012-02-08 WebKit 535.11 3.7.12 Updated Omnibox prerendering of pages. Download scanning protection. New extensions APIs. Improved History tab. Removal of "+" symbol from the "new tab" button. Limited support for changing user agent strings. Adjustable margins in print preview. Search engine synchronization. Disabled GAIA profile info. 18.0.1025 2012-03-28 2012-06-27 (Android ARM) 2012-09-26 (18.0.1026, Android x86) WebKit 535.19 3.8.9 Hardware-accelerated Canvas2D graphics. WebGL without the need of 3D graphics hardware through the software rasterizer SwiftShader. Brighter "new tab" button. 19.0.1084 2012-05-15 2012-06-28 (iOS) WebKit 536.5 3.9.24 Access tabs between devices. Reorganized and searchable settings interface. Better spell check by using the Google search engine spell checker. Web Store link to the bottom of New Tab page. Experimental JavaScript Harmony (ECMAScript 6) support. Experimental Web Intents API. 20.0.1132 2012-06-26 WebKit 536.10 3.10.6 Experimental touch friendly UI adjustments. Context menus have extra vertical padding between items. New tab button is bigger and wider 21.0.1180 2012-07-31 2012-08-22 (iOS) WebKit 537.1 3.11.10 Media Stream API (getUserMedia) enabled by default. (E.g. webcam access via JavaScript.) Gamepad API prototype available by default. Support for (pointer) and (hover) CSS media queries so sites can optimize their UI for touch when touch-screen support is available. HTML5 audio/video and WebAudio now support 24-bit PCM wave files. 22.0.1229 2012-09-25 WebKit 537.4 3.12.19 New-style packaged apps are enabled by default. New menu icon, replacing the wrench icon. Support for TLS 1.1. Support for color management ICC v2 profiles by default. 23.0.1271 2012-11-06 2012-11-28 (iOS) WebKit 537.11 3.13.7 Do Not Track preference Hardware video acceleration with 25% more efficient power consumption in some scenarios Manager for site permission control New icon for Chrome Web Store when opening new tab PPAPI Flash Player (or Pepper-based Flash Player) replaced the NPAPI Flash Player on Mac also. 24.0.1312 2013-01-10 WebKit 537.17 3.14.5 Support for MathML. The HTML5 datalist element now supports suggesting a date and time. Experimental support for CSS custom filters. 25.0.1364 2013-02-21 2013-02-27 (Android) 2013-03-04 (iOS) WebKit 537.22 3.15.11 Support for Opus audio Support for VP9 video Silent installs of external extensions are now disabled by default. Web Speech API Encrypted omnibox search (https) Native Client on ARM Disabled MathML support for the time being. Android version (update from 18): Newer V8 JavaScript engine Audio now continues to play while Chrome is in the background Support for pausing audio in Chrome when phone is in use 26.0.1410 2013-03-26 2013-04-03 (Android) 2013-04-09 (iOS) WebKit 537.31 3.16.14 Improved spell checker (grammar and homonym checking) Desktop shortcuts for multiple users (profiles) on Windows Asynchronous DNS resolver on Mac and Linux Android version: Autofill and password sync Performance and stability improvements 27.0.1453 2013-05-21 2013-05-22 (Android) 2013-06-03 (iOS) WebKit 537.36 3.17.6 Resource handling optimized for faster page loads. Improved Omnibox predictions and spelling correction. syncFileSystem API for Google Drive data synchronization. Stop packaging Manifest version 1.0 extensions. Android version: Fullscreen on phones (scrolling down the page makes the toolbar disappear). Simpler searching (the query stays visible in the omnibox, making it easier to edit) Client-side certificate support Tab history on tablets "A ton of stability and performance fixes" 28.0.1500 2013-06-17 (Linux) 2013-07-09 (OS X and Windows) 2013-07-10 (Android) 2013-07-17 (iOS) Blink 537.36 WebKit 537.36 (on iOS) 3.18.5 Replaced layout engine with Blink, a fork of WebKit on all platforms besides iOS. Faster page loads with the new Blink threaded HTML parser. Rich Notifications and Notification Center (HTML-based notifications deprecated). Major improvements to the asm.js benchmark performances. Support for the CSS :unresolved pseudoclass for Custom Elements. Support for the CSS @supports conditional blocks to test for property:value pairs. Android version: Fullscreen API support (fullscreen browsing on tablets). Experimental WebGL, Web Audio, WebRTC support behind flags. Built-in translation iOS version: Improved interoperability with many other Google Apps Voice Search enhancements Fullscreen for iPad Data usage savings (rolling out over time) Access to browser history 29.0.1547 2013-08-20 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2013-08-21 (Android) 2013-09-12 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.19.18 Support for VP9 final Support for TLS 1.2 Preliminary QUIC support Improved Omnibox suggestions based on the recency of visited sites Ability to reset user profile back to its original state New apps and extensions APIs Android version: WebRTC support WebAudio support Improved scrolling responsiveness and visual indication when scrolling to the top or bottom of a page Startup performance and stability improvements New color picker user interface for web forms Support for Google's experimental data compression service (comparable to Opera Turbo) that lets Google servers quickly read and optimize a Web page for mobile devices, then transmit it to the smartphone using Google's SPDY network technology. Rudimentary tab groups implemented iOS version: Get back to Search Results faster Data cost savings enhancements (rolled out incrementally) Voice search pronoun support (e.g. queries like: “Who is the president of the United States?” followed by “Who is his wife?”) Improvements to Single Sign On with other Google Apps Support for WebP image format 30.0.1599 2013-09-18 (iOS) 2013-10-01 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2013-10-02 (Android) Blink 537.36 3.20.17 New image context menu item: "Search Google for this image". New Chrome Apps APIs: webview.request, media gallery write support and downloads New platform features (both in desktop and mobile): support for the WebRTC Device Enumeration API, allowing users to change their microphones and/or camera on the fly without having to restart the WebRTC call; DevTools now supports CSS source maps; Chrome will now match the behavior of IE and not honor the Refresh header or tags when the URL to be refreshed to has a javascript: scheme; Android version: New gesture: swipe horizontally across the top toolbar to quickly switch tabs. New gesture: drag vertically down from the toolbar to enter into the tab switcher view. New gesture: drag down from the menu to open the menu and select wanted item without having to lift finger. WebGL is enabled by default on high-end devices DeviceMotion (device acceleration and rotation rates) events Media Source Extension is enabled on Android 4.1+ Two new experimental features behind a flag: Web Speech API (recognition) and the Vibration API iOS version: New look and feature enhancements for iOS7 Improvements to Fullscreen behavior especially on iPad (iOS7 only) New Settings UI Maps and email links launch the Google Maps and Gmail apps (if installed) automatically. You can change your preference in Settings Stability / security improvements and bug fixes 31.0.1650 2013-11-12 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2013-11-14 (Android) 2013-11-20 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.21.18 Payment requestAutocomplete() on Chrome for Android, Windows, Chrome OS PNaCl on desktop versions of Chrome New Chrome Apps APIs: With URL handlers for apps, Chrome App developers can now specify URLs to be handled by a Chrome App. For example, a document link on a website could open a document editor Chrome App. This gives users more seamless entry points into their favorite Chrome Apps. Directory access for Apps allows Chrome Apps to access and write to user-approved folders. This feature can be used to share files between a Chrome App and a native app. For example, a Chrome App code editor could modify files managed by a native Git client. SCTP for WebRTC Data Channel allows P2P data transfers between browsers to be either best effort, reliable, or semi reliable, opening up use cases such as gaming. Alpha channel support for WebM video enables transparency masking (a.k.a. green screen effects) in WebM videos. Speech recognition with the JavaScript Web Speech API is now supported on Chrome for Android. window.devicePixelRatio now takes full-page zoom (but not pinch zoom) into account. Support for { alpha: false } in getContext('2d') lets you create an opaque canvas. This is similar to existing WebGL functionality and can improve the rendering performance of your app. The Media Source API has been unprefixed and is now supported on Chrome for Android. It allows JavaScript to generate media streams for playback, addressing use cases like adaptive streaming and time shifting live streams. 2D canvas now supports the "ellipse" method. Support for several Mutation Events has been removed. Consider using MutationObserver instead. iOS version: Fast form completion with Autofill Long press on an image to search for related images Stability / security improvements and bug fixes 32.0.1700 2014-01-14 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-01-15 (Android) 2014-01-27 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.22.24 Tab indicators for sound, webcam and casting A different look for Win8 Metro mode Automatically blocking malware files A number of new apps/extension APIs Various under-the-hood changes for stability and performance Android version: Add web page shortcuts right to your home screen more easily from the menu Reduce data usage in Chrome up to 50%. Visit Settings > Bandwidth management > Reduce data usage to enable. iOS version: Translate When you come across a page written in a language that you don’t understand, just look for the translation bar. One tap and the page is quickly translated for you. Reduce Data Usage Reduce your data usage by up to 50%. Enable this feature and view your savings: Settings > Bandwidth > Reduce Data Usage. New Tab Page update to make searching faster and easier This feature is being rolled out and will be available to all users over time, beginning on iPhone. 33.0.1750 2014-02-18 (iOS) 2014-02-20 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-02-26 (Android) Blink 537.36 3.23.17 Custom Elements Ogg Opus in MSE and <video> Page Visibility API VTTCue Web Speech API (synthesis) Font-kerning requestAutocomplete() Speech Synthesis Android version: Download progress notification for file downloads using the Chrome network stack Updated help and feedback UI Support for <datalist> tag iOS version: Stability and security updates 34.0.1847 2014-04-02 (Android) 2014-04-08 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-04-29 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.24.35 Responsive Images and Unprefixed Web Audio Import supervised users onto new computers A different look for Windows 8 Metro mode A number of new apps/extension APIs New scroll bar look Android version: Battery usage optimizations iOS version: Updated tour when you start Chrome for the first time Support for autocomplete in the omnibox for right to left languages 35.0.1916 2014-05-20 (Android) 2014-05-20 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-05-28 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.25.28 More developer control over touch input New JavaScript features Unprefixed Shadow DOM A number of new apps/extension APIs Opus updated to version v1.1 Android version: Undo Tab Close Fullscreen video with Subtitles and HTML5 controls Support for some multi-window devices iOS version: Added right-to-left support to the omnibox for Arabic and Hebrew See your search term in the omnibox, instead of the long search query URL Easily refine your search queries and view more results on the search results page Stability improvements and bug fixes Linux version: Switched graphics interface backend from GTK+ to Aura 36.0.1985 2014-07-15 (iOS) 2014-07-16 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-07-16 (Android) Blink 537.36 3.26.31 Rich Notifications Improvements An Updated Incognito / Guest NTP design The addition of a Browser crash recovery bubble Multiple stability and performance improvements. Android version: Improved text rendering on non-mobile optimized sites. Doodles return to the new tab page. iOS version: Allows mobile sites that have added Cast support to work with your Cast-enabled device Stability improvements and bug fixes. Linux version: Chrome App Launcher 37.0.2062 2014-08-26 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-09-03 (Android) 2014-09-22 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.27.34 DirectWrite support on Windows for improved font rendering A number of new apps/extension APIs Multiple stability and performance improvements. Removal of the showModalDialog API, breaking several enterprise web apps Android version: Signing in to Chrome signs you in to your favorite Google sites. Updated look and feel with elements of Material Design. Multiple performance improvements and bug fixes. Windows version: 64-bit Windows support 38.0.2125 2014-10-07 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-10-07 (iOS) 2014-10-08 (Android) Blink 537.36 3.28.71 A number of new apps/extension APIs Support for logging into sites using FIDO U2F Security Key (a USB or smartcard security token) as a factor in 2-factor authentication Under-the-hood changes for stability and performance Android version: Support for Battery Status and Screen orientation APIs Additional Material Design updates Bug fixes and performance improvements iOS version: Better support for iPhone 6 and 6+. Download and open files in Google Drive. Stability improvements and bug fixes. Security fix. 39.0.2171 2014-11-12 (Android) 2014-11-18 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2014-11-24 (iOS) Blink 537.36 3.29.88 Removes SSL/TLS protocol version fallback to SSLv3. 64-bit support for Mac A number of new apps/extension APIs Under-the-hood changes for stability and performance Android version: Number of bug fixes and performance improvements Experimental Reader Mode can be enabled via chrome://flags, is not available for tablets in this version 40.0.2214 2015-01-20 (iOS) 2015-01-21 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2015-01-21 (Android) Blink 537.36 3.30.33 Disabled SSLv3 support by default. The minimum SSL/TLS version can now be set through about:flags. Updated info dialog for Chrome app on Windows and Linux. A new clock behind/ahead error message. Android version: Updated page info and content settings UI Number of bug fixes and performance improvements iOS version: New look with Material Design bringing bold graphics, fluid motion, and tactile surfaces iOS 8 optimizations and support for bigger phones Support handoff from Chrome to your default browser on OS X Stability improvements and bug fixes 41.0.2272 2015-03-03 (Linux, OS X and Windows) 2015-03-11 (Android) 2015-03-16 (iOS) Blink 537.36 4.1.0 A number of new apps/extension APIs Lots of under the hood changes for stability and performance Android version: The ability to pull to reload at the top of most pages A number of bug fixes and performance improvements 42.0.2311 2015-03-09 (Linux, OS X and Windows) Blink 537.36 4.2 Current Beta Channel 43.0.2327 2015-03-10 (Linux, OS X and Windows) Blink 537.36 4.3 Current Dev Channel Notes: All versions support Windows. OS X and Linux support started with version 5.0.375. The Android 4 platform was first supported with version 16.0.4130.199 (Chrome for Android). Old development and beta builds are not shown after they become stable releases. As of Chrome version 26, Linux installations of the browser may be updated only on systems that support GCC v4.6 and GTK v2.24 or later. Thus systems such as Ubuntu Lucid 10.04 LTS, Debian 6's 2.20, and RHEL 6's 2.18 are now among those marked as deprecated. Version 6–32 had Google Chrome Frame counterparts, until its development was discontinued. References:

§Reception

JR Raphael, writing for ComputerWorld noted "[It] functions separately from the stock system browser -- and offers plenty of advantages over it, too." "Chrome for Android gets tabs right. [...] [it] automatically pops up a magnified view anytime you tap a link that's close to other links on the page". "Perhaps the most impressive feature of Chrome for Android is its integrated sync capability [including] the ability to sync open tabs, meaning you can actually see what tabs you have open on any other Chrome-running device." "One of the biggest benefits of the new Chrome Android browser is its speed" concluding that "My first impression, without a doubt, is that Chrome for Android is a tremendous step forward for Android-based browsing".

The GSMArena review noted that "Performance-wise Chrome is fast. It scrolls, zooms and loads any web page just as quickly as you’d expect [...] You can control almost every aspect of your web browsing from choosing what content you want to allow to load like JavaScript, images, cookies and pop-ups. If you are out of Wi-Fi access, you can, for example, choose temporarily not to load images.", concluding "Chrome is an enhanced version of the already excellent stock Android browser and builds on it quite a lot".

§See also

• Firefox for Mobile
• Opera Mini / Opera Mobile
• Internet Explorer Mobile

§External links

• Official website
• Chrome for Android at Google Play (Android Market)