Google Chrome's latest software update, version 63, is now rolling out to all users on desktop (Linux, Mac, Windows) and mobile (Android), with updates for Chrome OS to follow shortly.
Chrome 63 brings with it a ton of new features for both desktop and mobile platforms. The highlighting features for both platforms include Flags redesign, Quick Site Certificate, and a new Device Memory Javascript API. On the other hand, Chrome for Android Oreo adds features like Smart Text Selection and a new modal Permissions dialog.
Flags redesign
The chrome://flags webpage gets a facelift with the new Material Design that helps users distinguish between Available and Unavailable in-development Chrome experiments. The feature has been previously used to enable and disable these beta experiments on the Web browser. There is also a new Search bar and a quick button to reset all experiments in one go.
Device Memory JavaScript API
This feature has been added to help users on low-RAM devices. The API automatically detects the amount of memory in the device and can redirect to lite versions of websites in cases of high RAM usage; a great step in improving user experience. Chrome has been infamous, in the past, for consuming more RAM than other major Web browsers.
Site Isolation
This is an interesting new feature that takes forward the work of Google's sandbox technology. Chrome 63 now lets you isolate certain webpages; content from them is rendered separately making sure that these pages do not share processes or cross-site iframes. This, obviously, comes at a cost: high memory usage. Google estimates that it will be 10-20 percent more than usual.
TLS 1.3 Rollout
TLS or Transport Layer Security is a protocol that configures secure communications for Gmail. The last update for TLS, version 1.2, came back in 2008, and Chrome 63 finally brings the latest in email security after a nine-year wait.
Smart Text Selection
Rolled out with Android 8.0 Oreo, Smart Text Selection is finally a feature in Chrome 63 for Android. Smart Text Selection recommends apps to users based on the text they select in any document, email or webpage. While the use case might be different from user to user, it is a really handy feature to have.
Chrome 63 will be available on your respective desktop/ mobile device in the coming days.
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