Latest Google Chrome 56 Update Brings Killer New Features But Spells Trouble To Web Applications
ByGoogle has just released the latest version of the company's web browser, Google Chrome 56. The latest version brings a couple of performance improvements on board and several bug fixes.
Faster And More Secured Chrome
Chrome 56 brings a host of smaller performance improvements, including faster page loading time, insecure page alerts when visiting an unsecured site, and a simplified reload behavior, which is said to maximize the reuse of cached resources and results in lower latency and data usage.
Faster speeds are not the only changes made in Google Chrome 56, the latest update also includes 51 different security fixes for the PC, Apple Mac OS, and Linux OS to make the browser safer to use.
In addition to the security fixes, Chrome 56 also adds Web Bluetooth API support on Android, Chrome OS, and Apple MacOS to make it possible for websites to interact with low-energy Bluetooth-powered mobile devices.
Latest Feature Might Cripple Web-Based Applications
It, not just useful features that the search giant is adding to the ubiquitous browser, Google had also been set to introduce a new tab-throttling feature that what the others claimed, could "break the web".
As stated by IT expert Samuel Reed on the STRML blog, Google intended to limit the resources of background tabs by giving them an allocated resources or budget. The latest update could have boost battery life, but for a huge cost.
Unfortunately, the latest update has missed one important thing: Chrome is no ordinary web browser; it is the world's most widely used application platform and many people used this.
The move, according to The Independent, could have crippled a number of web apps, such as Slack, as they carry out most of the heavy lifting work behind the scenes.
Some of the web-based applications today, like Slack and Discord, are heavily reliant on the ability to process notifications in the background and would be hugely affected" by the planned Chrome's throttling feature.
The planned throttling feature would limit the ability of some web -based applications to sync and create notification alerts. Fortunately, Google responded to feedback prior to the launch of Google Chrome 56, but has not given up on the idea of throttling feature.
The throttling move is the latest in the company's attempt to reduce the amount of drain the Chrome browser takes on battery life. Archrival Microsoft recently fueled the on-going battery life war with the search giant after claiming that Chrome web browser's power consumption was 45 percent higher than that of Microsoft Edge.