Google Chrome developer preview (unofficially) released
Digg's Kevin Rose, perennial purveyor of information that just "fell off the back of the truck" shared a link early this morning to Google's new, supercharged, Webkit-based browser -- for Mac.
The new browser, Chrome, is clearly marked as a developer preview, and not meant for general browsing. In fact, as a good Mac citizen, it will refuse to set itself as your default browser.
It scores a 100 on the Acid3 test straight out of the box, but doesn't pass: it fails something called the linktest, which involves interacting A tags and IFRAMEs. A little research suggests that it could be a bug with Webkit. If that's true, then it's a bug that Safari 4 beta has fixed.
Chrome appears to have Flash (and other plugin) support disabled as well. JavaScript support, however, is fully functional. While Chrome performed much better than Firefox on this cursory test, it still didn't beat Safari 4 by a long shot. While only a beta, its performance is respectable and sure to improve.
Again, Google Chrome isn't for everyone, but if you're a web developer who needs to keep up with the bleeding edge of browser development, then this preview should be stable and reliable enough for you to test what you need to.
Read through for the full JavaScript test details.
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

I ran this test on my iMac with a 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It was meant more to show the relative execution speed differences between the browsers rather than a demonstration of raw horsepower. Chrome executed JavaScript instructions in this test 2.7 times slower than Safari 4. Firefox executed the instructions 7.4 times slower than Safari 4.
Update: Commenter Manu points out that there are other, possibly better, tests out there that give different results. Thanks, Manu!
Share
Categories
Digg's Kevin Rose, perennial purveyor of information that just "fell off the back of the truck" shared a link early this morning to...
Add a Comment
It can set itself as the Default Browser on Mac. For details read our take on Read http://applechipmunks.com .
June 08 2009 at 4:17 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyi still prefer to use firefox overall.
June 07 2009 at 2:35 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyalthough chrome is a faster browser, the add on feature on firefox roks .
June 07 2009 at 2:28 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyi love firefox its add on's feature rocks.
June 07 2009 at 2:26 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyhttp://tools.google.com/mac/updaterfaq.html
"Google Updater for Mac has been retired because Google software, such as Desktop and Notifier, no longer require its use. If you had it installed, we did some housecleaning and automatically removed the program for you, using GoogleUpdaterGhostInstaller.pkg, in order to free up processing power on your computer."
I think that's an old page referring to a different updater.
If you go to install Google Earth on a Mac, you still get the screen telling you that you must agree to let Google Software Update run in the background on your computer. The only alternative is the button that says "Quit Google Earth".
Do we really need another browser? :)
June 05 2009 at 7:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyMG's tests show different results. Chrome appears to be faster than Safari :(
http://www.myappleguide.com/news/2505/google-chrome-snappiest-them-all
Smart Scroll doesn't appear to work as of yet. I am not amused.
June 05 2009 at 1:34 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply> if you're a web developer who needs to keep up with the bleeding edge...
Bleeding edge indeed. Chrome seems interesting as browser but *who* exactly are these bleeding edge web developers you speak about? Is there even any reason for us developers to even *test* Chrome for any reason other than curiosity? It should render similar to Safari... and even if it doesn't, is it really worth fixing (beta) bugs for 0.1% of people who might *actually* use it? Too bad with all these new browsers coming, developers are still hacking around IE bugs.
Plus, how can you use this to "proof" pages if it doesn't even have Flash support?
As you said, to proof webkit on mac, use Safari. To check for "real" Chrome users, better off using Windows.
WebKit based Stainless (http://stainlessapp.com) scores 100/100 on Acid3 and has no linktest problem, so it's not a WebKit thing.
June 05 2009 at 12:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHot Apps on TUAW
Deals of the Day
more deals- Verizon Leather Sleeve for Tablets for $4 + free shipping
- Wicked Jaw Breaker Noise-Isolating In-Ear Headphones for $6 + free shipping
- Refurb Apple MacBook Air Laptops: 12" 64GB SSD for $699 + free shipping
- JVC Motion Sensing Clock Radio with Dual iPod Docks for $55 + free shipping
- Apple iPhone Headset with Mic for $4 + $2 s&h
- Refurb Apple iPod nano 8GB MP3 Player for $99 + free shipping, 16GB for $119
Software Updates
more updates- EFI Firmware Update brings Lion Internet Recovery to 2010-model Macs
- OS X Lion 10.7.3 released with Safari 5.1.3, Wi-Fi bug fix
- Aperture updated to 3.2.2, addresses Photo Stream issue
- Apple updates Keynote to address Lion issues
- Google Search app gets new look on iPad
- Apple releases Apple TV Software Update 4.4.3



26 Comments