Chrome 48 Beta brings custom buttons on notifications, casting from the web, more

With Chrome 47 currently rolling out to desktops and Android, Google has announced the Chrome 48 Beta and the new features that will come with it. Most are more developer-focused and geared towards Chrome for Android.

Further diminishing the distinction between the web and applications, developers will be able to add custom buttons to notifications on Chrome 48 for Android. The example shown was an app that provides a weather alert and offers to create a reminder and conveniently order a taxi. This builds on the auto dismissing notifications that were released with the current version of Chrome. Google notes that Chrome now delivers over 350 million push notifications a day.
The mobile version of Chrome will soon be able to detect a user’s connection speed and as such be able to send the most optimum page resources for that connection. These features will help developers in developing countries make web apps that have all the benefits of a full app, but are much easier to update and smaller in size to download.

Also with this version, Chrome for Android will allow websites to present to Chromecast or other Google Cast-enabled devices. Developers can build sites that show a presentation on a big screen and have a presenter mode on the phone. You can download the beta version of Chrome through the Play Store or switch to the beta channel in the browser. For the rest of us, expect to see Chrome 48 hitting devices in approximately six weeks.