The Chrome 30 beta has one of the longer lists of new features we've seen from the browser in quite some time. One of the most immediately visible will be a new option to search by image when you right-click or long-press on one. It'll use your default search provider to perform the task, but chances are you'll be using Google's own top-notch photo-mining service. The Android edition is also revamping its various gestures to make them easier to perform and lessen the chance of accidentally triggering them. Now all the gestures are performed in the top tool bar: swipe left or right to switch tabs, down from the middle to initiate the tab selector or down from the upper right-hand corner to open the menu.

As if that wasn't enough, the back-end tech is getting a slew of new features on both the desktop and mobile sides. The Android version of the Chrome beta now supports WebGL, the MediaSource API and DeviceMotion, for making use of the accelerometer in the browser. MediaSource is particularly useful for generating dynamic streams of content that can adjust bit-rates on the fly, based on the quality of the connection. On the desktop, a load of new APIs have been added to the Chrome App framework, including support for in-app payments and downloads. WebRTC and speech recognition have also received improvements across all platforms. You can find out more details at the source and download the new Chrome beta at the more coverage links below.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

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Source: Chromium Blog, Chrome Blog