The newest version of Chrome, Chrome 29, has arrived, largely sticking to the standard update cycle that Google has set out in previous releasing. While there are some fairly significant updates here providing a set of new features, perhaps the most exciting boost comes for Android users, who are about to get a big taste of the Web-based real-time communications (WebRTC) lifestyle thanks to the newly minted updates.
It's likely the most important new update in a string of same; thanks to the update to Chrome, the mobile browser now has support for WebRTC. This will not only give users access to the communications tool whose importance—and use—is rapidly gaining favor, but will also offer developers the chance to better add WebRTC functionality to a variety of different apps. Google is already hosting a WebRTC video chat app so that users can get a better handle on what the platform can offer, and several examples of WebRTC in action can already be seen in things like the recently released Cube Slam game.
But as big an update as WebRTC support is, it isn't the only new feature in Chrome 29. The browser -- geared for Mac, Windows, Chrome Frame and Linux -- will boast some updates to the Omnibox, the URL/search bar combination, that will allow for improved suggestions based on websites a user has already been to. Google calls it “more timely and contextually relevant suggestions” and Mac users will even get a little extra bonus in the form of rich notifications, as the browser now supports same on Mac. Further, browser settings in general will be easier to reset, which is great for when users get a bit carried away in terms of extensions and need a quick and simple way to get back to one.
It's a pretty nice update all told; the desktop versions certainly won't want for new features, but the clear winner here is the mobile user, who will get new access to one of the most powerful new tools around in terms of communications. What's more, making it more readily available for developers increases the likelihood that this technology will offer some new and impressive capabilities in terms of app development. Having seen already the kind of impact that WebRTC can have in somewhat unlikely places—again referencing “Cube Slam” in which players can video chat during a game itself—it's safe to say that once the developers can get fully involved with WebRTC, the sheer number of applications featuring this technology will increase, and more often, the ability to chat in voice and video while mobile will show up in unexpected places. Many of these will likely prove sufficiently useful that we'll wonder how we ever got along before it was an option.
WebRTC is making some huge strides in terms of the overall landscape, and we're seeing more and more just how much impact this platform can have. Chrome 29, meanwhile, just shows how committed Google is to getting this platform into more users' hands, and it's likely not going to be the last we hear of this new and powerful technology.
Edited by
Rachel Ramsey
