Google continues to roll out big updates for Chrome on a regular basis. Today, users are entitled to version 108 of the browser, which as usual brings its share of new features. On the program this time: a reworked keyboard on Android, an energy saving feature and new emojis.
Already version 108 of Google Chrome, and the Mountain View firm is still finding new ways to improve its browser. Of course, it is still far from perfect, if only from a security point of view, but it now offers a lot of features that make life easier for its users every day. And it is not ready to stop.
Indeed, Google still has several options in the works. While some have not yet found their way into a final version of Chrome, such as tabs that adapt their color to the wallpaper, others are already available thanks to the deployment of version 108 to the general public. In this article, we offer you a small overview of all the new features of this latest update.
Here’s everything that changes with Chrome 108
Tabs that hibernate to save RAM and battery
We’ve been talking about this feature for some time. Available for a few days via Chrome 107, tab hibernation also lands in the latest browser update. The principle is simple: open tabs that have not been visited for a certain time are put “on hold”, understand that they no longer consume energy. This saves RAM (which Chrome is known to consume happily), but also battery for portable devices. The feature is still under development and therefore may not work perfectly at this time. If you still want to take advantage of it, you can already activate the option on chrome://flags/#battery-saver-mode-available and selecting Eabled in the drop-down menu.
A new keyboard on Android
There are actually two ways to integrate the keyboard on a smartphone website. The first is to redefine the size of the content displayed on the screen when the keyboard is used. The second lets the keyboard display over the content. This last solution is the one Safari has opted for, for example, while Chrome generally prefers its competitor. However, it is not always easy for developers to take these two ways of doing things into account when creating their sites. With Chrome 108, Google will therefore leave the choice to the latter between the two methods for displaying the keyboard. So expect behavior that is potentially different from your usual behavior.
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A new design for the search bar
Google continues to extend its Material You philosophy to all its products and it is now the turn of the Chrome search bar to be entitled to it. The changes are relatively small and are only visible on the result proposals. We find all the elements specific to Material You, from rounded edges to a more refined general design.
More beautiful emojis
Chrome 108 includes a new font format called COLRv1. The latter has two distinct advantages. First, it gives developers more freedom in terms of functionality, while offering an alternative solution when it is not possible to concretely realize their idea. For users, this format improves the appearance of characters, especially emojis, by displaying more saturated colors.
How to download Chrome 108?
On PC:
- Open Google Chrome
- Open the drop-down menu located at the top right of the browser
- Go into Help > About Google Chrome
- The update will start automatically
- Once installed, close and reopen Google Chrome
On Android and iOS
- Go to the Play Store or Apple Store
- In your profile, select the application management tab
- Select Chrome and start the update
