Biggest Changes in Chrome 79
Google Chrome’s next big update, Chrome 79, has officially entered its beta phase , which means the official public release will be here in the coming weeks, although most of us have barely gotten around to the recent launch of Chrome 78 . With the update, users can expect some exciting new features, including text and link sharing across multiple synced devices, new VR support, updated security, and even a new tool that should curb Chrome’s insatiable appetite for system memory.
If you’d like to try out Chrome 79 early, you can download and install the beta , but for those who would rather wait until any lingering bugs are fixed, here’s a preview of the main features coming in the next big Chrome update.
New opportunities
- Freeze Tabs: Desktop users are well aware of how much memory Chrome can consume , but Chrome 79 will add a new “freeze tabs” feature that prevents open tabs from performing new tasks after they’ve been in the background for more than five minutes. (however, this will not affect tabs playing media in the background). Chrome’s freeze tabs feature will be available on Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS.
- Cross-platform Clipboard: Users logged into both the Chrome desktop and the Android Chrome browser will be able to sync and share text between both devices using the new end-to-end encrypted clipboard menu. This feature will require users to have Chrome sync enabled.
New VR developer tools
A special feature of the official announcement of Chrome 79 is a new virtual reality API that developers can use to create VR and AR -based web apps for smartphones and VR headsets.
How much this new feature actually gets noticed by the average Chrome user depends on how many websites, apps, and games have been developed with it. However, other browsers like Firefox Reality, Oculus Browser, Microsoft Edge and Helio also support the new API, so there is certainly a chance that we will see more websites and apps with VR or AR functionality in the near future.
Security updates
- More privacy from DNS-over-HTTPS: Chrome 79 will finally test DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) for the browser for a small subset of users. DoH is a safer method of accessing a website because it protects the identity of the browser user (you can read more about this here ). DoH was originally announced for Chrome 78, but has been brought back to Chrome 79.
- Updated security requirements for websites: Users may notice that some websites that were previously considered safe will appear as “Insecure” in Chrome 79. This is because Chrome no longer supports certain security protocols in an attempt to force websites to adopt better security standards.
Other changes
In addition to these major updates, Chrome 79 will have a host of additional technical changes and minor tweaks. Most of them don’t really matter to the main user base, but they are listed on the Chrome developer page for those who are curious.