Chrome 30 beta adds quick search by image, new gestures, and more

Scorpus

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With a short release cycle that sees new versions of web browsers released reasonably frequently, it's not often that we see anything more than a few improvements and bug fixes in a new release. However with the Chrome 30 beta, Google has chucked in a surprisingly large amount of new features and APIs.

To start with, Google are making it much easier to search the internet using an image, including an option to do so in the right-click (or long press) context menu. Normally you'd either need to download an extension or head directly to the Google website to search by image, but with Chrome 30, Google has recognized the feature's usefulness and put it in an accessible location.

chrome google android browser web browser chrome 30

For the Android version of the browser, gestures have been reworked and revamped. With the Chrome 30 beta, you'll be able to swipe across the toolbar to switch tabs, swipe down vertically to enter the tab switcher, or drag down from the menu icon to open the menu and select items without having to lift a finger.

The back-end of Chrome 30 for Android has also received a few new APIs, packing in WebGL for graphics, MediaSource for dynamic content streams, and DeviceMotion for accelerometer support. The desktop version includes a bunch of new Chrome App frameworks, and both platforms receive WebRTC improvements.

If you're interested in trying out the freshly-released Chrome 30 beta, head here to download the desktop version, or jump in to the Google Play Store to download the Chrome for Android beta.

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