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Google has unveiled the latest edition of its Chrome Web browser by releasing Version 28.0.1500.71 to its stable release channel, making it available to users. The company has also delivered the latest version 28 of Chrome for Android for mobile users as well as implementing richer notifications for users of Chrome for Windows.
The Chrome 28 Web browser update is for Windows, Macintosh and Chrome Frame platforms and will update users’ machines automatically, according to a July 9 post by Anthony Laforge of the Chrome team, on the Chrome Releases blog. The new version fixes a variety of security and stability issues, including three low-level issues, seven medium-level issues, four high-level threats and one critical issue, according to Laforge.
Not included in Chrome 28 but receiving separate attention is a pending update to Flash Player 11.8.800.97 through a component updater, he wrote.
The new Chrome for Android version 28.0.1500.64 has also been boosted to the stable channel and received several new features that improve it for users, wrote Jason Kersey of the Chrome team, in a July 10 post on the Chrome Releases blog.
Google Translate is now built into Chrome for Android, providing automatic detection of foreign languages when users browse Web pages, and a follow-up offer to translate those pages into the user’s native language, wrote Kersey.
Also new is a full-screen capability on tablets in which users can scroll down the page and the toolbar will disappear, making more of the Web page visible to the user on the device, wrote Kersey. Users will also notice a new optimized user interface for right-to-left (RTL) languages, including Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew. A wide range of stability and performance fixes are also included.
Chrome for Android is also receiving a new experimental data compression service in the coming days that will help users save bandwidth, load pages faster and browse more securely on their phones and tablets, according to a July 10 post by Dan Alcantara, a Chrome software engineer, on the Google Chrome blog. “Too good to be true, you say? Au contraire,” he wrote. “By optimizing the pages you visit, this feature can help you save on data usage and bring you a faster, more dynamic Web.”
Users of Chrome for Windows are also now receiving updates for the browser that will let them receive much richer notifications when using Chrome, according to a July 9 post by Justin DeWitt, a Chrome software engineer, on the Google Chrome blog.
The richer notifications capabilities were originally announced in May 2013 as a coming feature to help Chrome users stay abreast of meetings, calls and other activities that they are involved in in their busy work lives, wrote DeWitt. The Macintosh version of the new richer notifications is not yet available but will debut soon, he wrote.
“We’re excited to see what developers create and the convenience it brings to your day-to-day lives,” he wrote.
The Google Chrome team launched the previous version of the browser, Version 27, in late June, while also unveiling Version 27 of its Chrome OS operating system.
The updates and fixes are part of Google’s regularly scheduled updates for its products. Earlier in June, Google updated the Chrome 27 browser to fix a critical security issue, 10 high-priority issues and a medium-priority problem. An earlier stable release of Chrome 27 was unveiled in late May, which showcased innovative speech-to-search capabilities and increased speed. That release, Version 27.0.1453.93, included Web pages that loaded 5 percent faster on average than previous versions as well as a chrome.syncFileSystem API that allows the saving and synchronization of data on Google Drive.