Google Chrome is receiving a major update next month – best new features revealed

Google is gearing up to release Chrome version 80. The new update will start rolling out for all users on February 4 and, while not overhauling the browser dramatically, will introduce a raft of nifty new functionality. So without further ado, here is Express.co.uk’s collated list of the best new features you can look forward to…

Making Chrome less power-hungry

Google is introducing a new tool in Chrome version 80 that will freeze tabs that haven’t been viewed in over five minutes to take the strain off your PCs CPU and disk usage… or your smartphone’s processor and RAM.

Of course, Google is making some exceptions here. If you’re jamming to your favourite playlist on Spotify in a browser window, Chrome will be intelligent enough to recognise this and ensure no audio is spontaneously cut-off.

The new feature will certainly be welcomed with open arms by any Chrome users that have ever been forced to see their PC chug as it attempts to fight off the browser’s power-hungry behaviour.

Tab grouping

Google is finally giving Chrome users a way to organise their tabs into neat groups. Hooray!

A new tab grouping feature will start rolling out in Chrome 80 (with a wider rollout coming in Chrome 81) that’ll let users arrange their tabs by name and colour.

Explaining the new feature, Google said: “Starting in Chrome 80, some users will be able to organize their tabs by grouping them on the tab strip.

“Each group can have a color and a name, to help your users keep track of their different tasks and workflows. A wider rollout is planned for Chrome 81.”

Less intrusive notifications

We’ve all been there – you head to a website and you’re bombarded with permission requests that you’re forced to dismiss before you can get to the content you visited for in the first place. Well, Google is working on the ultimate solution.

In a recent post on its Chromium blog, the Mountain View firm outlined its new user interface for notifications that’ll be less intrusive. In Chrome 80, the browser will automatically block notifications from sites under two conditions: if the user frequently dismisses notifications or on sites that have low opt in rates.

Discussing the new functionality, Google said: “Notifications on the web enable users to receive important updates even when they are not interacting with a website. Notifications are an essential capability for a wide range of applications including messaging, calendars, email clients, ride sharing, social media and delivery services.

“Unfortunately, notifications are also a common complaint as many websites request the notification permission on first visit rather than at contextually relevant moments in the user’s journey. Unsolicited permission requests interrupt the user’s workflow and result in a bad user experience.

“To protect notifications as a useful service for users, Chrome 80 will show, under certain conditions, a new, quieter notification permission UI that reduces the interruptiveness of notification permission requests. In Chrome 80, users will be able to opt-in to the new UI manually in Settings.

“In addition, the quieter UI will be automatically enabled for users under two conditions: first, for users who typically block notification permission requests and second, on sites with very low opt in rates. The automated enrolment will be enabled gradually after the Chrome 80 release while we gather user and developer feedback.”

Google Chrome version 80 will release for all platforms on February 4.

source: express.co.uk