Google launches Chrome 57 with new features and improvements

In a bid to give more control to developers, Google has launched Chrome 57 for Windows, Mac, and Linux with various new features and improvements.

"The Chrome team is delighted to announce the promotion of Chrome 57 to the stable channel - 57.0.2987.98 for Windows, Mac and Linux. This will roll out over the coming days/weeks," said Krishna Govind, Google Chrome. "Chrome 57.0.2987.98 contains a number of fixes and improvements - a list of changes is available in the log."

Chrome has added CSS Grid Layout, a two-dimensional grid-based layout system for responsive user interface design. To make supporting and maintaining designs on a variety of screen sizes easier, elements within the grid can be specified to span multiple columns or rows, plus they can also be named so that layout code is easier to understand.

Google has also included a total of 36 security fixes in its latest Chrome 57 update. Most of these vulnerabilities were discovered and patched by various developers that Google awarded with up to $7,500 USD, according to the complexity of the bugs.

For Android users, the new Media Session API will enable support for more controls for actions like seeking or skipping, allowing sites to provide more metadata to the browser. Notifications can feature background artwork for device lock screens and other info, like title, artist, and album name.

Chrome 57 also provides the ability to appear in app drawers, and system settings through progressive Web Apps on the home screen. They will be able to receive incoming intents and access the normal Android notification management controls instead of Chrome’s.

The desktop version of Chrome 57 for desktop is rolling out now, the update for Chrome on Android and Chrome OS will be coming soon.