Chrome 90 brings a number of new window management tools, essential fixes for Reading List, and more. The update is currently being released for Chrome browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
The AV1 encoder is optimized for Video Call calls
Online meetings are incredibly popular these days, so Chrome is working to support this new trend. Chrome 90 on PC supports AV1 Encoder, uses the WebRTC standard, and is optimized for video calling.
The video quality will be better and use less bandwidth, even if the data connection is slow. Of course, due to the use of codecs to get these improvements, they won’t happen overnight.
HTTPS becomes the default
Chrome 90 will try to load websites over HTTPS by default. This enhancement will make for better privacy and improve website loading speed. Today, the majority of websites use HTTPS. Chrome will also try to load HTTPS but will revert to HTTP if the web is not supported.
That doesn’t seem like a big deal. Since most websites already support HTTPS, is this change not helping? Not sure yet, this change ensures that even if you click an old URL or enter an old URL, you’ll still be using HTTPS.
Hide Reading List without using Flag
Reading List started appearing before Chrome 90, but it lacks one key feature of hiding it. Previously you had to use Flag in Chrome to hide it, but now just right-click to hide the Reading List.
Give the Chrome window a specific name
If you have multiple Chrome windows open, there’s a new feature to help you manage Chome windows that you should try. Chrome 90 adds the ability to name windows. These names show up in the taskbar and task view.
You can find this feature in the menu “More Tools” or by right-clicking on the title bar of the window. A text box will appear and you can enter a name for the window. This feature will be available for Chrome on PC.
Other features
Chrome 90 does not have many changes to the UI, but there are always many changes towards the back-end. You can read about these changes on the developer’s website and the Chromium blog. I will list some notable changes below:
- WebXR Depth API: Helps sites that use AR measure the physical distance between your device and real-world objects.
- New CSS Overflow value: Prevent text from spilling out of text boxes and other elements. Stop any scrolling in the box.
- Feature Policy API has been renamed to “Permissions Policy”.
- Shadow DOM: Chrome 90 can help you create shadows using just HTML.
- Core Web Vitals: Developers can use the new overlay to better visualize and measure page performance.
Chrome will automatically install the update on your device upon release. To immediately check for and install any available updates, click menu > Help > About Google Chrome.
