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Mobile OSs Chrome Beta Updated - Couple nice features added
- Thread starter Assault
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I know that web apps are considered to be evil, but, I do like the ability to pin shortcuts to the home screen as I can on my iOS devices now.
Twitter for example:
Tablet optimised running independently from Chrome as if it's a native app. Not bad at all!
Twitter for example:
Tablet optimised running independently from Chrome as if it's a native app. Not bad at all!
Maybe a Google Apps subsection, with a thread for each GApp? I do love what Google is doing though with their core Apps. They have taken the power from the carriers and have allowed any phone (old, new, Android or iPhone) to have he most up to date Google Apps.
Also, did anyone notice that the alarm app 'Timely' has been incorporated into Googles Apps syncing? Look below.
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Still missing the one feature I most want, at least on Chrome on my tablet--a bookmark toolbar.
Until they fix the jank from scrolling I can't ever use this browser. It's just such so horribly optimized and I think people don't realize it until they use another browser that is actually optimized properly. On my HTC One the stock browser scrolls like Safari on iOS meanwhile Chrome scrolls like the JooJoo tablet
iOS 7 Safari is far better than iOS Chrome, it reversed my opinion I held beforehand. The slide to back/forward, reading mode, and favorites page makes browsing much more pleasurable. Chrome has some design issues it needs to work out, like the menu that crams every semi-related function into one list. What I see in this update for Android is functionality iOS has had for ages, and it's still lacking a built-in reader mode, reading list, and more useful gestures.
Plus, I hear the performance on Android is iffy.
Not sure why you are having issues? I use Chrome Beta on my desktop PC, Chromebook, Nexus 7, Nexus 4 and before that my S3 and have no issues that you describe? I use Boat Browser as a backup. On an iPhone though, no question that Safari is highly optimized and better than using any 3rd party browser. As for your HTC One, I have no idea why you are getting that sort of issue?
Have to agree with much of this. I always found Safari to offer a great browser experience but since I now have a blended ecosystem myself and value having data/bookmarks synced across all of my devices, I'm left only with Chrome as an option and on Android, it's pretty subpar. As good as I find most of Google's services, I'm bewildered that they cannot but together a good browser, especially considering how good the desktop version is.
Yep, these are updates that iOS has had for a while. The updates to Chrome Beta are happening 2 to 3 times a week now though, with lots of features getting updated quickly.
As for the built in reader, not something I use and not sure if Google will create a new version of Google Reader to institute this. Likely relegating this sort of thing to 3rd party apps like Feedly.
Gestures? I don't know if Google can use swipe gestures similar to Apple? Isn't there some patent on 3 and 4 finger swipes to change pages and tabs? I know 1 and 2 finger swipes are not, just not sure about 3 and 4 finger. That said, I do like the touch and move up and down the menu list without requiring another tap and double tap/swipe up or down to zoom in and out a la Google Earth.
And what you hear about performance is useless banter. Equivalent to spreading baseless gossip. Your personal experience would be more relevant.
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Are you using Chrome or Chrome Beta? I ask because I do not use Chrome. I stick strictly to the Chrome Beta channel.
So all the reports - even in this thread - of Chrome hitting scrolling bumps and lacking fluidity is erroneous hearsay? I find that somewhat hard to believe, considering I've replicated it on a Nexus 7. Not to mention, it tends to benchmark slower than iOS 7 Safari as well.
In my short time using iOS 7, Safari was quite easily the biggest upgrade to iOS, in my opinion. (Yes, even bigger than Control Center, which disappointingly cannot be customized to settings you actually want to toggle.)
I was very impressed with Safari on iOS 7. It finally had almost all the features that Chrome has had but with its trademark fluidity. (Please Apple, copy more -- I mean it.) Finally, Private browsing is where it belongs. And finally, tabs are easy to switch to.
Chrome has the features; it's gotta get more fluid. There are some weird quirks about it, like the bubble pop up to help accurately select a link just pops up way too much, sometimes unnecessarily so (like when there's clearly only one link I could have possibly pressed...)
The wacky thing is, Chrome seems to run not necessarily badly, but not the best it can on the Nexus 7 with stock Android. And I really don't get this. Because Chrome on my HTC One runs very well.
Yesterday's update to Chrome, though, may have fixed that. Too early to tell. Haven't browsed yet on my N7 today...
I was very impressed with Safari on iOS 7. It finally had almost all the features that Chrome has had but with its trademark fluidity. (Please Apple, copy more -- I mean it.) Finally, Private browsing is where it belongs. And finally, tabs are easy to switch to.
Chrome has the features; it's gotta get more fluid. There are some weird quirks about it, like the bubble pop up to help accurately select a link just pops up way too much, sometimes unnecessarily so (like when there's clearly only one link I could have possibly pressed...)
The wacky thing is, Chrome seems to run not necessarily badly, but not the best it can on the Nexus 7 with stock Android. And I really don't get this. Because Chrome on my HTC One runs very well.
Yesterday's update to Chrome, though, may have fixed that. Too early to tell. Haven't browsed yet on my N7 today...
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So, regurgitating info you have no personal experience with is okay in your opinion? How is this different than old woman's gossip?
Regardless, this is why I asked if people are using Chrome or Chrome Beta. I only use the Beta version, which is why this thread is labeled as such. And I will gladly start posting some vids showing how smooth Chrome Beta is on my Nexus devices and how crappy Safari is on my iPod. How many swipes does it take you to get to the bottom of a long 40 post thread? I can do it with one fluid swipe. In iOS Safari, what's it take, 10 or 15 swipes. I call that really bad lag.
So, regurgitating info you have no personal experience with is okay in your opinion? How is this different than old woman's gossip?
Regardless, this is why I asked if people are using Chrome or Chrome Beta. I only use the Beta version, which is why this thread is labeled as such. And I will gladly start posting some vids showing how smooth Chrome Beta is on my Nexus devices and how crappy Safari is on my iPod. How many swipes does it take you to get to the bottom of a long 40 post thread? I can do it with one fluid swipe. In iOS Safari, what's it take, 10 or 15 swipes. I call that really bad lag.
You don't read very thoroughly. Everyone has mentioned it, from reviewers to forum users, and I've replicated it myself. And that scrolling behavior is specific only to Safari and is purposeful. I'm working on an iOS browser that will use the much faster scrolling speed for pages, and the slower reading speed (which you referenced) for articles.
I used to only use Chrome Beta but was experiencing hiccups with it, i.e. sites would hang saying it required acceptance of cookies and to turn it on it, yet that feature was already on. Occasional random crashes as well. I don't fault it though since it's, well you know, a beta version.
You don't find it a bit troubling though that you have better experiences with a beta version of a piece of software vs. the supposedly stable, tried-and-true version?
I also see the inconsistent execution of the pop-up bubble Couch mentioned. My biggest hangout though, and this may certainly just be personal preference, is the lack of a bookmarks toolbar when using Chrome on a tablet. It takes too many steps to access one's bookmarks using the Menu.
Here you go. Not my best work, but considering where I am right now and an iffy wireless signal, I uploaded this vid really quick. This is on my Nexus 7. Best I can do at the moment. Tinypic stretched it out for some reason, but you get the gist of it. This is Chrome Beta version 31.x
Quick Chrome Beta scrolling on Nex7
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I don't find it troubling one bit. I prefer the version with the most advancements. A year ago, I would have agreed with you. Since then though, the constant updates have made Beta a very stable version of Chrome. One I prefer. I have 5 devices total from Windows to Android to OSX to iOS and they all stay synced with each other via Chrome. Makes life easy for someone like me that uses multiple OS's. Just my view on it though.
This is slightly OT as what I'm about to say is regarding the stable build...
...which Google has just ****ed over completely, with the latest update (I got it today). They have changed the side swipe to next tab - the feature that above all other features made me choose Chrome over other browsers - so that you now have to swipe along the address bar at the top in order to slide to the next tab.
This is absolute bollox as the reach to the top of a larger device screen is quite an uncomfortable thing to be doing all the time, and literally impossible to do one handed. And on a Note size device, or indeed a tablet, is simply a joke.
I presume they did this because people have been complaining about the side swipe being too easy to activate, leading to inadvertent swipes when one only wanted to side scroll a picture panel or move horizontally across the page. But those inadvertent swipes - in my experience - were not much of a real bother. I learned to avoid them with a bit of simply getting used to the browser, and anyways those mistakes were easy to reverse with another side swipe back.
I went back to Firefox after just a few minutes with this latest build, seeing as I had used that side swipe all the freaking time. Then thankfully someone told me that I could de-install all upgrades on my Chrome install, which I immediately did. Lost all my bookmarks, saved passwords and history in the process, as well as the nice speed & fluidity which the browser had received in the update. But the relief of not having to deal with the idiotic address bar swipe makes it worth it.
Seriously, Google. Don't fix what isn't broken. Please revert this change to the side swipe, then find the intern that suggested this unnecessary change and fire him.
...which Google has just ****ed over completely, with the latest update (I got it today). They have changed the side swipe to next tab - the feature that above all other features made me choose Chrome over other browsers - so that you now have to swipe along the address bar at the top in order to slide to the next tab.
This is absolute bollox as the reach to the top of a larger device screen is quite an uncomfortable thing to be doing all the time, and literally impossible to do one handed. And on a Note size device, or indeed a tablet, is simply a joke.
I presume they did this because people have been complaining about the side swipe being too easy to activate, leading to inadvertent swipes when one only wanted to side scroll a picture panel or move horizontally across the page. But those inadvertent swipes - in my experience - were not much of a real bother. I learned to avoid them with a bit of simply getting used to the browser, and anyways those mistakes were easy to reverse with another side swipe back.
I went back to Firefox after just a few minutes with this latest build, seeing as I had used that side swipe all the freaking time. Then thankfully someone told me that I could de-install all upgrades on my Chrome install, which I immediately did. Lost all my bookmarks, saved passwords and history in the process, as well as the nice speed & fluidity which the browser had received in the update. But the relief of not having to deal with the idiotic address bar swipe makes it worth it.
Seriously, Google. Don't fix what isn't broken. Please revert this change to the side swipe, then find the intern that suggested this unnecessary change and fire him.
I have a suspicion that they changed the side swipe gesture because of the consistency they want to maintain between the iOS and Android versions of Chrome. On iOS, I predict they will be making the same change, and adding the default slide to back which makes Safari such a joy.