Google has released version 10 of its browser. The update brings hundreds of bug fixes as well as many features that have been available on the Chrome beta and dev channels to users interested in using Chrome's latest builds. Chrome 10 also addresses 23 security vulnerabilities in the WebKit-based browser (easily more than Google has ever fixed before): 15 rated as High, three rated as Medium, and five rated as Low.
The new Chrome version is significantly faster in some respects (a 66 percent improvement in JavaScript performance on Google's own V8 benchmark suite) and adds features such a new settings interface with a search box that shows you the settings you're looking for as you type, the ability to synchronize passwords across your computers and encrypt them with your own secret passphrase for extra security, as well as the options to sync bookmarks, extensions, preferences, themes, and more. Here's the official changelog:
- New version of V8 - Crankshaft - which greatly improves JavaScript performance
- New settings pages that open in a tab, rather than a dialog box
- Improved security with malware reporting and disabling outdated plug-ins by default
- Sandboxed Adobe Flash on Windows
- Password sync as part of Chrome Sync now enabled by default
- GPU Accelerated Video
- Background WebApps
- webNavigation extension API
The latest stable build (10.0.648.127) is available now for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux. Those who currently have Chrome installed can use the built-in update function under the About Google Chrome menu item.
The release is light on new features because Google is no longer concerned about using version numbers to mark a significant development milestone. The search giant recently promised to accelerate the release cycle for Chrome and push out a new stable build every six weeks. Chrome 9 was actually released just over four weeks ago. Apparently users don't mind these frequent releases: the browser's market share is already over 10 percent.