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Saturday marked the 10 year anniversary of Chrome, Google’s Internet browser. To celebrate, Google announced a major update to Chrome, filled with fun and useful features.
The anniversary was announced on Saturday, in a tantalizing tweet:
In case you couldn’t tell…it’s our birthday. Plus, we’ve got a surprise for you this Tuesday. #GoogleChrome pic.twitter.com/nkEEjFEHCB
— Google Chrome (@googlechrome) September 1, 2018
Google waited until after the Labor Day holiday weekend in the U.S. to announce the update to Chrome:
Pick a screen, any screen.
We’ve got something new for you, no matter where you use #GoogleChrome https://t.co/dKBdXSOUUi pic.twitter.com/0GzvTmpoiJ
— Google Chrome (@googlechrome) September 4, 2018
One of the developers shared his memories of creating Chrome:
One thing people don’t realize or celebrate is that we didn’t crunch – most people went home by 6PM. I would sometimes work on a Saturday, only out of boredom, passion, and desire to perfect, tweak, and add. We had time because no-one suspected us and we were ruthlessly focused.
— Glen Murphy (@gmurphy) September 1, 2018
Google is trying to keep Chrome’s popularity high by adding new features that will make it more fun and efficient. Updates include Chrome for computers as well as Chrome for Android and iPhone/iPad.
New Features in Chrome
Chrome will have a new look with different colors and shapes, designed to make navigating and searching easier. Tabs will be rounded so that website icons (also called “favicons”) will be easier to read. Google explained, “Are you a secret tab-hoarder? No judgment. We changed the shape of our tabs so that the website icons are easier to see, which makes it easier to navigate across lots of tabs.”
Filling out forms for travel reservations and online shopping will be easier with the new Chrome. Auto-fill features have been improved and information will be saved to your Google account so forms can be filled out more quickly on Chrome for computers and mobile devices.
Passwords will also be saved between Chrome on computers and mobile devices. Chrome will suggest passwords when you’re creating accounts, then save them so you can easily sign in wherever you are.
New Chrome introduces Smart Answers, giving you information in the web address bar, called the Omnibar by Google, when you start typing a search. No need to go to a new page to search Google for weather forecasts, celebrities, sports scores, translations and more.
You can also use the Omnibar to search your open tabs. If you’re searching for a website that’s already open, you’ll see “Switch to tab.” Click or tap it to quickly jump to that open tab.
A future update to Chrome will let you search your Google Drive files from the Omnibar.
New tabs can become more personal. Easily save shortcuts to navigate easily to your favorite sites. You can add a photo as a background so your new tab page will feel more like home.
Mobile Chrome can show you tabs that are open in Chrome on your device and on your computer. The toolbar for Chrome on iPhone and iPad has been moved to the bottom of the screen so you can reach it more easily.
And for a fun update, Google is also updating its dinosaur game. If you’re not connected to the Internet, Google will let you play a dinosaur game which has been updated in the latest version of Chrome.
Nothing says “Happy 10th birthday @GoogleChrome!” like a little friendly competition…
Hey @rahulrc, @lockheimer, @darinwf, can you beat my score in 10 tries or less? No cheating! 🦖🎂🏆 #GoogleChrome pic.twitter.com/bniikLzznV
— Parisa Tabriz (@laparisa) September 4, 2018
Your Thoughts
Do you use Chrome? Are you looking forward to using the updates to Chrome? Which of these new features will be the most useful for you?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Hi Carolyn,
Ever since Google chrome was launched, it became such a crowd puller. It is the most used browser and how we love using it. It makes browsing pleasurable. It has been ten years so far and more to come.
New features looks good. I haven’t updated my browser yet. I’ll do it soon and chek out the new features.
Thank you for sharing this post. have a good day. 🙂
Hi Tarique, Yes, Chrome has many features that people enjoy using. You’re right, it’s great they’re adding new features to keep it popular with its users.
Have a wonderful weekend ahead, Tarique.
Hi Carolyn,
Years pass by so quickly that even before we realized a decade passes by. It seems like just yesterday when Google Chrome was launched. It had a different look from Internet explorer. At first we were not very comfortable using it, then came all the benefit and now we are so much into it. Now majority of us use Google Chrome, It is fast, easy to navigate and with so many features.
Thanks a lot for sharing this. Happy weekend. 🙂
Hi Sajid, Excellent point. Google needs to add features to keep Chrome current and stay in the battle with competitors. You’re right, Internet Explorer used to be the most popular Internet browser but it stagnated and now Chrome has that title.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Sajid!
Hi
Carolyn,
Happy to know about the new features of “Google Chrome”. All these new features looks good and it will give better browing experiance. Google chrome is my favorite web browser and I use it on both PC and mobile.
I like its new feature “Omnibar” where we will get answers in the web address bar. Happy to know that we can also add a photo as a background in Google chrome.
Thank you so much for sharing this post
Best wishes,
Praveen Verma
Hi Praveen, Yes, you can certainly make your new tab page your own by adding a photo. The Omnibar is very cool too. It’s surprising that Google added this feature as it doesn’t seem to add to their advertising revenue.
I hope you enjoy updated Chrome, Praveen.
Hi Carolyn,
I use Chrome as my primary browser. One of the biggest reasons why is that in my company, we use a lot of cloud based software and programs, such as Workday (for HR) and some other proprietary software. Almost all of them were designed to be used with Chrome. If you use them with IE, then some links might not work or drop down menus. And when used with Chrome additional features appear that weren’t there before. It seems, Chrome is not only user friendly for internet surfing, but many companies are programing specifically for Chrome.
thanks!
Hi Alexander, That’s a very interesting perspective. Yes, because Chrome is the most popular Internet browser, many developers may choose to code for Chrome. That means that websites and features may show up the best on Chrome as opposed to other browsers.
Google is wise to continue innovating Chrome to keep it popular and stay ahead of the competition.
Every since its launch was using Chrome and i think its the most reliable and fast browser ever. The new updates are also quite good and hope to see some good features from Chrome in future.
Hi Muhammad, You’re not alone. Chrome is the most popular browser and these new features may make Chrome even more popular.
I hope you enjoy this update to Chrome, Muhammad.