Google Chrome is a Google browser, as its name suggests available for all types of devices and that we can use for free. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular and most used. You can use Google Chrome on macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and Windows and it has been available since 2008, the year in which it was initially released. Until today. In these twelve years, Chrome has changed a lot. The Google browser has been undergoing continuous modifications and improvements version after version until it reaches the current one.
You may want to know the changes in the versions of Google Chrome or you want to have a trial version that helps us to implement changes in the web page that we want to launch. There are stable versions updated every several weeks and development versions and we tell you all about them.
Google Chrome versions
Google Chrome is updated, in a stable way, every two or three weeks within the same version. This is an update for minor changes such as minor bug fixes or improvements that make navigation easier. It is normal that there are continuous updates in the same version to solve small bugs , etc.
It’s about every six weeks that a new version of Chrome is released. Each of them fixes the previous bugs, implements improvements and updates details such as the aspect ratio, for example, issues related to java, cache or pop-ups or general improvements in security and privacy.
During the development of these versions there have been more important changes from one version to another such as the implementation of HTML5 , the “crash” of flash in the browser, the appearance of the Chrome Web Store or the adaptation to new audio and video systems, among other.
Continuously updated
As we have seen or as you can see, the updates are continuous so making a list of versions of Google Chrome would be obsolete in just a few days. These updates not only implement improvements in the desktop version for Windows 10 but also implement improvements in its versions for Android or for iOS if we want to navigate through the phone or the rtablet.
You can check all the Google Chrome updates over time from the Google website dedicated to it. All versions and releases of new versions of the browser through the calendar and the archive.
Trial versions
There are other trial versions, beyond the stable versions of Google Chrome that we all know or have installed: Google Chrome Beta, Google Chrome Dev and Google Chrome Canary. All of them are test versions according to the specific phase of the test that is developed. What differences are there? They are test versions in their different stages of development.
The Google Chrome Beta version is the one in which all the bugs are polished and it is the most stable since everything is almost ready. It is usually only one step behind the stable version and generally works without problems as there is hardly any polishing left until it reaches users. It is recommended if you want to have the improvements before anyone else but if you do not want to suffer continuous failures. The version is updated every week and usually has a major update every six.
The Google Chrome Dev version is the pre-beta phase: the most important functions are finalized and will move to the next version but there may still be bugs . Obviously, it is more unstable than the Beta version and the “Stable” version and it is generally intended to be used by developers, but its use is not recommended at a normal level since we will find all kinds of bugs. Of course, it is recommended and advisable if you are an administrator of a web page and want to make sure that it will continue to work correctly in new Chrome updates.
Google Chrome Canary is the fourth and last of the versions. The most unstable, the one with the most changes. On many occasions we will not even get it to start. It allows us to test the latest version and newly released features but it is the most unstable version with tools and options that have just been implemented or have not even been activated yet. It is generated automatically on Google’s servers with changes made to the browser code every few hours but there is no type of verification by the developers so problems are common and it is very unstable. It is not as recommended as the previous ones but you can download it.
How to know what version I have installed
To check the version you have of Google Chrome, you can do it from the browser information and in the “Help” section:
- Open a window in the browser
- Go to the three points in the upper right
- Choose the option “Help” in the drop-down menu
- Tap on ” Google Chrome Information “
Here you will see if it is updated or not and with what version specifically.
How to update Google Chrome
Updating Google Chrome on your computer is very simple, although we always have to bear in mind that there is a new version of the browser available for your device. In that case, the steps we must follow are the following:
- Open Google Chrome on your computer
- Go to the three dots at the top right of the screen
Those three dots will appear one color or another if there is an update. If there is not, the icon will appear gray as in most cases. If there is, it can be green, it can be orange, or it can be red. The color will depend on how long the update has been published: green if it was released less than two days ago, orange if it was released about four days ago and red if the update takes at least a week. So we can easily check if we should update or not.
In the event that any of the colors appear , updating is very simple: Touch on the three points in the upper right and click on “Update Google Chrome” The advantage is that this button in the menu will only appear if we have one outdated version. If we have the latest version we will not see any warning.
Once you have done it, restart. Don’t worry if you have multiple tabs open because they will reopen once the browser has restarted.
How to install an older version
There may be a time when you want to install an older version of Gogole Chrome, whatever the reason you have to do so. It is not the most advisable because usually the updates offer more options and possibilities but you can do it if you miss any function.
You have to bear in mind that if you download or install an older version of Chrome, all data from the cache, user profiles, etc. are deleted. But you can easily do it. Of course, it is advisable that in Windows you block automatic updates so that the browser does not return to its current version without you trying to do so.
Once you have it, the steps are simple:
- Tap on Start
- Search for cmd and open the command prompt
Depending on what you want, you should write one thing or another:
If you want to downgrade to the latest version installed manually with MSI, type:
msiexec / fvomus GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi ALLOWDOWNGRADE = 1
If not, write:
msiexec / i GoogleChromeStandaloneEnterprise.msi ALLOWDOWNGRADE = 1
- Go back to the computer and open Chrome
- Check the browser version to make sure the change has been made
In case of any problems, Google recommends that you contact the support team by phone or through the Google Cloud Support solution .
