Mostly developer-focused stuff this time around
Google moves at an incredible pace when it comes to releasing Chrome versions. As such, shortly after bringing Chrome 98 to the stable channel, the company has already shipped Chrome 99 as a beta. This time around, a lot of changes are happening under the hood for developers, but only a few interesting tidbits will have a visible impact on us regular folks.
New download workflow for desktop
Your browser is the application to go to when you need to download files from the web, but Chrome has gone out of its way to bury quick access to all of your downloads in the top right overflow menu in the past. It looks like the company is exploring to go for a similar design to Microsoft Edge in the future, though. A more prominent shortcut for downloads could soon move right next to the overflow menu to the right of the address bar. This has yet to go live by default, so it might not make it in time for the stable launch of Chrome 99, but the foundation is there.
Handwriting recognition API
Google wants to finalize an older experiment that it first started in Chrome 91: a built-in handwriting recognition API. It will allow developers to create note-taking or drawing apps more easily, as they won’t need to rely on third-party integrations any longer. There are already many APIs out there, but they’re often system-specific, so having one standard that works across different platforms is neat to have. For now, the handwriting API is only available on desktop Chrome, though.
Manifest V2 is on the way out
Google wants to change how content blockers (read: ad blockers) work in the browser. The company says it’s done to reduce the resources used up by content blockers, but many developers suspect Google wants to push the change to make blockers less efficient. Either way, while already released browser extensions will be able to use the old method until next year, Google now doesn’t allow any new extensions to use the so-called Manifest V2 — they will have to rely on Manifest V3, which only allows for smaller blocklists.
Further changes
- Web apps can now force browsers to display the system’s date picker at their discretion, which has been a feature that developers have been asking for for years.
- Chrome 99 is bringing some enhancements to international date formatting, making it easier for developers to localize content (and hopefully clearing up some confusion around dd/mm/yy and mm/dd/yy).
Download
Chrome 99 Beta is now rolling out on the Play Store. You can download it there, but it’s also available over at APK Mirror if you prefer.
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