Google Canary
Google Chrome is arguably the most popular browser used to surf the internet in the present time but most of us are unaware of the fact that there are four versions of the browser.
Canary is an experimental version of the popular Chrome browser. Google offers four release channels for its browser: Stable, Beta, Dev, and Canary. Most people use the Stable release of the popular browser, which is rigorously tested and considered very reliable. Apr 19, 2021 Spinnaker is an open source, continuous delivery system led by Netflix and Google to manage the deployment of apps on different computing platforms, including App Engine, GKE, Compute Engine, AWS. Canary's smart alerts distinguish between people and motion and include an image thumbnail, so you know in an instant whether a family member, foe, or a four-legged friend is in your home. One touch access to police. Chrome Canary features for developers – Google Chrome Google uses cookies to deliver its services, to personalize ads, and to analyze traffic. You can adjust your privacy controls anytime in your. Chrome Canary Features For Developers - Google Chrome Google uses cookies to deliver its services, to personalize ads, and to analyze traffic. You can adjust your privacy controls anytime in your.
Yes, you read that right. Most of us work on the stable version, which is an end product of multiple tests run on other versions of the browser — Canary, Beta and Dev.
Every time an update has to be tested, it first rolls out these browser versions and later on when all the bugs are fixed and the update is stable, it’s rolled out for the Chrome browser used by millions.
Also Read: Top 21 Google Chrome Keyboard Shortcuts.Here we’ll be discussing how you can check which browser version you’re using and also how do the four versions of Google Chrome browser differ.
Chrome Versions
Stable
The stable version of Google Chrome browser is what you get if you simply search ‘download google chrome’, ‘google chrome’ or a similar keyword on Google search.
This version is used by a majority of Chrome users and is a result of extensive testing in other versions of the browser, making it the safest and most stable version of Chrome.
Beta
Chrome’s Beta version is one step before the updates are released for the stable build — which caters to millions of Chrome users.
Chrome beta is mostly stable, with a few minor bugs hampering its performance at times — which are then fixed before the update is rolled out to the stable build.
Beta is the final stage of testing the update, gets the final tweaks in user interface and gets tested for bugs before it is released to the wider audience on the stable version of Chrome.
Chrome Beta browser is updated every week by Google and receives a major update approximately every six weeks.
Dev
Chrome Dev is a step ahead of Beta and is slightly more unstable. This version is mainly used by the developers to test out big changes to the browser which may or may not make it to the Stable or even Beta version.
The Dev version of Chrome is more prone to crashes, errors, extension compatibility issues and more as the update on this version is still in its early stages with lots of bug fixes arising and pending fix.
Canary
Chrome Canary is the most unstable build of all the four versions as it’s updated regularly by Google’s servers automatically with the latest Chrome development code.
This version is basically used by developers to test compatibility issues. Most of the updates you see here won’t ever make it to the stable built.
An update is in its infancy when being tested on Canary.
Canary can be run independently alongside your stable version of Chrome on the same PC and will not interfere with the functioning of the latter.
How to Check Your Google Chrome Version?
Checking your current Google Chrome browser version is simple. Access the ‘three-dot’ menu in the top right of the browser.
Hover over to ‘Help’ in the dropdown and click on ‘About Chrome’. The new window will show the version of your browser, the first two digits in the string of numbers is the update number.
In the browser shown in this image, the update number is Chrome58. While the stable version of Chrome browser uses the string of numbers, the other versions have ‘Beta’, ‘Dev’, ‘Canary’ after their respective number strings.
Also Read: How to Identify and Kill Chrome Tabs Eating Up RAM.Another thing you’ll notice is ’64-bit’ or ’32-bit’ at the end of the version numbers. The Chrome version depends whether the machine you’re running is 32-bit or 64-bit.
64-bit version of the browser has enhanced security features.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.
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There are a ton of features in Chrome you likely don’t know about, all the newest stuff is in the Chrome channel Canary.
“What’s a channel?” you ask? Don’t worry, I’ll break it all down for you.
What is Chrome Canary?
Chrome’s development process is split into four different “release channels”: Stable, Beta, Dev, and Canary. Stable is the regular Chrome that you’re probably using right now. Beta is the stuff that’s new and probably works. Dev is for developers; updated weekly with new features, but less stable.
Named for the proverbial “canary in a coal mine,” the term canary has been adopted by the software development community for bleeding-edge versions run side-by-side with production releases to accelerate iteration and bug-tracking. It’s Google’s name for Chrome’s experimental model.
You’ll find the familiar Chrome interface. But under the hood are features that may or may not make their way into future Chrome releases. And many that may not work.
You can’t set Chrome Canary as your default browser because it’s inherently unstable. Google used to warn that Canary is “designed for developers and early adopters, and can sometimes break down completely.” But if you’re a developer, you might want to use Canary regularly despite this.
How is Canary different from other versions of Chrome?
Canary is the only Chrome channel that installs separately. And on a Mac, it’s the only one that can be run right alongside Stable. Windows users should find they can run Dev and Beta side by side. Linux users don’t get access to Canary.
Chrome Canary is also a better environment for developers than other Chrome channels because it comes with features, flags, and APIs that are new and untested.
For instance, at the time of writing, any JS written in the console in Dev tools is evaluated immediately. The autofill CSS feature was available first in Canary, months before it was released as part of Stable.
Finally, Canary offers a less-cluttered search experience. It’s not totally ad-free, but it does seem to show a lot fewer ads than Stable, and the interface is a little cleaner.
Who should use Chrome Canary?
Canary is mainly for developers. It’s updated nearly daily with new features, and because it can be run alongside Chrome’s Stable channel for testing and development purposes, developers get access to the latest features while getting the stable, polished Chrome everyone else is using. Developers can test new features, APIs, changes, and flags while enjoying a stable environment for day-to-day work too.
If you’re not a developer, you can use Canary to get a glimpse of where Chrome might be heading, or to get a more modifiable browser experience. Some users like to use Canary because they use Stable for work and work-related applications.
Let’s look at the features, flags, and APIs developers are using.
Canary features
Developers get early access to new additions to Chrome DevTools in Canary.
For example, right now, Canary users can use Audits and dev tools like Request Blocking and Local Overrides to diagnose website performance. If Audits says that render-blocking resources are slowing down a page, you can use the Request Blocking tab to block those scripts, then re-Audit the page to see if you’ve correctly identified the problem.
There’s also a payment handler debugger in the Background Services section of the Application panel, and a new third-party diagnostic tool in the Audits panel that tells you how much third-party code was requested and how long it blocked the main thread while the page loaded.
Other new things worth mentioning: a bug reporting tool for DevTools itself and additions to the Timing section, including Largest Contentful Paint, which measures time to render the largest content element in the viewport. But new features are added regularly.
Canary flags
The Canary build contains hundreds of experimental “flags” (or features buried in Chrome for developers to tinker with), ever-changing, with new ones added and others removed all the time.
To see these in Chrome Canary, go here: chrome://flags/
You can search for the flag you’re looking for or just scroll down the list. A few of my favorites:
Google Canary Indir
- Force Dark Mode: Creates a dark mode for websites that don’t already have one.
- Custom Theme: Lets you build your own Chrome theme.
- Reader Mode: Strips extraneous content out of web pages to make them easier to read.
Many flags are less for improved browsing experience and more for developers.
There’s tons of Chrome Flags in the Stable version of Chrome. You will get access to even more experimental flags in Chrome Canary.
Canary APIs
Canary lets you use experimental APIs too. These are turned on using flags and accessed using the permissions field of an app’s manifest. Two things to know about this:
Google Canary 64
1. The manifest
Some APIs will tell you how to declare permissions in the manifest. For experimental APIs, you’ll need to enter this code in the manifest:
2. Finding the APIs
Go to chrome://flags/, find Experimental Extension APIs, and enable it and relaunch Canary.
You’ll now be able to run extensions that rely on Canary’s experimental APIs. This sometimes includes extensions reliant on new technology, such as augmented reality (AR) extensions.
Problems When Using Chrome Canary
Canary breaks completely about once a month, and usually takes a day or so to fix. That can be frustrating if you’re relying on it.
Canary can also be buggy. Expect that things won’t work as intended. But you will notice that bugs get fixed faster than the Dev or Beta version of Chrome. Canary gets rebuilt every day so small changes go live faster instead of slowly working their way through an entire release schedule like other versions.
Other common problems with Canary include:
- Problems with Flash
- Pages such as the Settings page failing to load
- Major applications like Docs simply not working
- Bugs with video and graphics rendering
- Total failure to load sites, extensions, or settings
- OS-specific crashes
Who should NOT use Chrome Canary?
If you’re not technologically knowledgeable and capable, Canary isn’t for you. There’s little benefit to be had from using a slightly more advanced version of Chrome if you don’t need most of those advanced features anyway. The instability is too high a price to pay.
You should also avoid Canary, and to a lesser extent the other early-release Chrome channels, if you speak English as a second language. These builds will be only partially translated into languages other than English. New features, in particular, will probably be labeled and documented in English only.
How to Get Chrome Canary
There are Chrome Canary builds for Windows 64-bit, 32-bit, Mac OS, and Android, though not for iOS or Linux. Click the relevant link to access it:
All versions of Google Chrome can be downloaded from this page.
Google Canary Install
And if Canary is broken and you still want access to bleeding-edge new features—or if you are, in Google’s words, “absolutely crazy”—you can download a chewing-gum-and-baling-wire version of Chrome that isn’t even Canary-ready yet here. Updated every few minutes, this build is likely to be extremely buggy and not work well at all.