With Chrome 58 rolled out to desktop and Android, version 59 is now entering the beta channel. The browser will finally take advantage of native notifications on macOS, while some Windows users will automatically be upgraded to the 64-bit version of Chrome.
Chrome has long used its own system for sending notifications from the web and other extensions. Starting in version 59, the browser will finally use the native notification system on macOS when developers send alerts via the Notifications API or chrome.notifications.
Visually, notifications will no longer appear as square cards and lose the shortcut to quickly access preferences. Google has published a migration guide for developers as some low-usage API features are now discouraged as they degrade the experience on macOS.
This version also adds native support for animated PNGs. APNGs are similar to GIFs, but with support for both 24-bit images and 8-bit transparency.
Those currently using the 32-bit version of Chrome on a 64-bit Windows machine with at least 4GB of memory and auto-update enabled will automatically be migrated to 64-bit Chrome this update. The 32-bit version will still be available via the Chrome download page.
Update: This migration is also occurring on the latest version of Chrome 58 released today.
Another developer-focused feature allows developers to run the browser from a command line with Headless Chromium. This tool is specifically aimed at running automated testing and also for server environments where a visible UI isn’t needed. Support is available on Mac and Linux, with a Windows implementation coming soon.
Chrome 59 should hit the stable channel in approximately four weeks.
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