The web is amazing. You can find the world’s information, stay connected to friends and family, do your shopping, or be entertained all by simply tapping on a link on your phone. But challenges like high data cost and slow, 2G-like connections often prevent our users from getting the most out of the web.

We want to make Chrome a better place for all our users to enjoy the mobile web. Chrome’s new features on Data Saver, downloads, and content discovery were designed to help you do more on the web, no matter what phone or network you may have.

Save more data, even on videos
We launched Data Saver to help you enjoy more content on the web while using less data. With Data Saver enabled, Chrome compresses the images and text you load, saving up to 60% of your data without changing the content you enjoy.

Now, we have brought the same technology to videos, which allows you to save up to 67% of your data when viewing MP4 format videos through Chrome. In India alone, this new technology is already saving 138 TB of data on video in a single week — roughly 14 years of HD video!

Data Saver is also becoming smarter. When you are on a slow connection, Data Saver will automatically optimize HTTP websites to their essentials. These optimized pages save up to 90% of your data, loading 2 time faster!
Less time waiting for pages to load, more data savings, and video support. You will be glad you turned on Data Saver!

A new downloads experience
We are also thinking about how you can keep using Chrome even when you go offline. We built the dinosaur game to keep you smiling even if you have no access to the internet, but we are doing even better.

With Chrome’s new download feature, when you come across a web page, music, picture, or video that you like, you can just tap the download button to save for later. You don’t need to worry about restarting your download if your connection is dropped, even for big video files. When Chrome goes back online, the downloads you’ve started will automatically resume.
To help you get back to all your content, we added a new home for all your downloads, right inside Chrome. Whether it’s the article you saved for later, or that movie trailer for the train ride home, you can access all the content while you are offline.
Downloads are now available on Chrome Beta and will be available soon for Chrome users everywhere.

Discover new content personalized for you
With features like Data Saver and downloads, Chrome is a great way to enjoy content on the mobile web. But we also want to make it easier to discover content you really care about.

Now, when you open a new tab in Chrome, you will see suggestions for websites to visit. But starting in the next release, you will be able to easily discover fresh content just for you. Whether it is the latest buzz from the web or getting back to your most recently downloaded pages, you can simply scroll down on the new tab page to discover all your content in one place!
These suggestions are also smart — as you use Chrome more, Chrome will learn what type of content you are interested in and suggest fresh content from your favorite sports team or your most visited sites. You’ll always have something interesting ready!

We believe that our focus on data savings, offline capabilities, and content discovery will make Chrome an even better place for you to experience the mobile web. Download the latest version of Chrome to be one of the first to try these features as we roll them out!

Posted by Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, Vice President of Product and Data Minimalist

Last week, we released a new version of Chrome that includes new payment features and performance improvements. In fact, over the last year Chrome has seen double-digit improvements in speed and battery life. These improvements help you get more done, faster, and we thought you’d like an update.

Speed has always been a priority for Chrome. People spend so much time in the browser that even tiny page delays can add up to minutes of lost time every day. When measured with tools like Speedometer, improvements over the last year have made Chrome more than 15 percent faster on both desktop and Android. That’s good news if you’re working against a deadline or trying to place a last-minute order.

We also know that you want to get as much browsing time out of your laptop’s battery as possible. So Chrome now uses less battery for sites that people visit the most. For example, Chrome for Windows lets you watch more video on sites like Vimeo, Facebook and YouTube than it did a year ago.

With Chrome 52, video playback on Android now feels smoother, loads faster, and consumes less battery.

Web video is huge, with over a billion hours played in Chrome every week on sites like Amazon, Facebook, The New York Times, Netflix and YouTube. Much of that is on mobile devices, and we want to make your viewing experience great.

With the release of Chrome 52 on Android, video playback has been improved for speed and power efficiency. This means you will see smoother playback and faster load times. Videos will now start playing sooner, instead of pausing briefly before loading, and your battery will last longer.




Video also now works with Data Saver Mode, saving you as much as 50% on data by showing a lightweight version of the video.

These improvements will be most noticeable on short videos, which make up the majority of videos on the web. With more publishers and sites moving to HTML5, your video experience on Chrome will just keep getting better. Update Chrome on Android today and give it a spin.

Posted by Renganathan Ramamoorthy, Proud Papa of Playbacks

We launched Chromebooks for people who wanted a fast, simple and secure computing experience. Chromebooks just work -- open the lid, and within seconds, you’re on your favorite sites and apps, getting stuff done. Virus protection and automatic updates are built-in, so you don't have to manage your computer. And that’s worked great for our users. Schools in the US are now buying more Chromebooks than all other devices combined -- and in Q1 of this year, Chromebooks topped Macs in overall shipments to become the #2 most popular PC operating system in the US*.

We’ve been encouraged by this growth, but our users have often told us that they would like to do even more with their Chromebooks -- run more apps, use Office files more easily, connect with a variety of apps, and do more when they’re offline.

So, we're bringing Google Play (the most popular app store in the world) to Chromebooks. This means you’ll be able to download and use Android apps, so you can make a Skype call, work with Office files and be productive offline -- or take a break with games like Minecraft, Hearthstone or Clash of Clans. The same apps that run on phones and tablets can now run on Chromebooks without compromising their speed, simplicity or security. This is good for users and great for developers - in addition to phones and tablets, they will be able to easily bring their apps to laptops. And all this is built on top of Chrome OS, so users will continue to have everything they love in their Chromebooks.



Google Play will start rolling out in the developer channel with M53 on the ASUS Chromebook Flip, the Acer Chromebook R 11 and the latest Chromebook Pixel. Over time, this will roll out to other Chromebooks in the market too. And, we've also been working with our partners to launch some great new devices specially designed for Play. Stay tuned for more details to come over the next few months.

We’ll keep a list of supported Chromebooks here, and will share news about new models on the Chrome channel on Google Plus and Twitter.

Chromebooks have always been about making computing more accessible for everyone, and by bringing together the best of Android and Chrome OS, we are taking a big leap forward. Not only are we addressing many of the existing needs and use cases that people have for their Chromebooks, we are also betting on the millions of developers who are innovating every day to build the next great experience that wasn’t even possible on PC platforms before. This is just the beginning, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for everyone!

Posted by Dylan Reid and Elijah Taylor, Chrome OS Software Engineers and Raiders of the Lost Arc.

* Source: IDC's Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, May 2016

Chrome reached a pretty big milestone this week – its 50th release! We originally launched Chrome to give users a fast, simple and secure browser. That still remains our mission today.  And while there’s still much more to do – especially with the shift to mobile and providing a great experience for people using the mobile web for the first time – we thought we’d take a step back and reflect on our journey so far.  Here at Google, we’re obsessed with stats, so we thought you might enjoy a whirlwind tour of Chrome, by the numbers.

Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, Director and Stats Stockpiler

Two weeks ago, we introduced Tilt Brush, a new app that enables artists to use virtual reality to paint the 3D space around them. Part virtual reality, part physical reality, it can be difficult to describe how it feels without trying it firsthand. Today, we bring you a little closer to the experience of painting with Tilt Brush using the powers of the web in a new Chrome Experiment titled Virtual Art Sessions.

Virtual Art Sessions lets you observe six world-renowned artists as they develop blank canvases into beautiful works of art using Tilt Brush. Each session can be explored from start to finish from any angle, including the artist’s perspective – all viewable right from the browser.

Participating artists include illustrator Christoph Niemann, fashion illustrator Katie Rodgers, sculptor Andrea Blasich, installation artist Seung Yul Oh, automotive concept designer Harald Belker, and street artist duo Sheryo & Yok. The artists’ unique approaches to this new medium become apparent when seeing them work inside their Tilt Brush creations. Watch this behind-the-scenes video to hear what the artists had to say about their experience:
Virtual Art Sessions makes use of Google Chrome’s V8 Javascript engine for high-performance processing power to render large volumes of data in real time. This includes point cloud data of the artist’s physical form, 3D geometry data of the artwork, and position data of the VR controllers. It also relies on Chrome’s support of WebM video and WebGL to produce the 360° representations of the artists and artwork – the artist portrayals alone require the browser to draw over 200,000 points at 30 times a second. For a deeper look, read the technical case study or browse the project code that is available open source from the site’s tech page.

We hope this experiment provides a window into the world of painting in virtual reality using Tilt Brush. We are excited by this new medium and hope the experience leaves you feeling the same. Visit g.co/VirtualArtSessions to start exploring.

Posted by Jeff Nusz, Data Arts Team Technical Lead and Pixel Painter

Whether you’re hard at work or play, your laptop should reflect your style and let your true self shine through. We’ve thought a lot about how to mirror our users' needs in a new kind of laptop -- one that not only helps you work smart, but also look bright. Anyone will see themselves embracing the revolutionary glint of the Chrome Chromebook¹.
Chrome Chromebook adds dazzle to the power of our best-in-class hardware and software, with shiny design facets to inspire a new generation.

Enjoy tungsten space-grade chrome engineering with revolutionary new microchrome technology, so it’s light -- in every sense of the word. The highly reflective chrome alloy case with two layers of automotive clear-coat creates infinite reflections, enveloping the Chrome Chromebook like a shimmering sheath. The platinum white backlit keyboard LED bounces light off a minimum of seven surfaces before striking the eye, and the included microfiber sleeve helps retain that just-unboxed glow.

Yet, even with these brilliant new features, Chrome Chromebooks are still about performance and function. With Chrome Chromebook’s radiant 4k lumen reflective properties and unheard-of pixel density, watching a movie rivals the beauty of staring into a solar eclipse. The magnificent CLED (Chrome Light-Emitting Diode) screen provides brightness settings that rival the Sun itself. You’ll be blinded by its sheer brilliance².

Move toward the light. The Chrome Chromebook will be available for purchase online starting today in the U.S and will arrive in stores soon. Or if you can’t wait, try wrapping a Chromebook in tin foil to bask in the reflected glory. We hope you enjoy what’s next.

Be brilliant. Get a Chrome Chromebook.

Last year, we brought the magic of Google Cast, the technology behind Chromecast, to speakers, Android TVs, game consoles and set-up boxes. Today, we’re excited to start casting to VIZIO’s new SmartCast P-Series displays as well as to VIZIO soundbars and speakers.
The P-series now comes with Google Cast built in, which means you can use your smartphone or tablet as your remote to cast your favorite entertainment directly to the big screen. Simply tap the Cast button from apps like Netflix to watch Daredevil, YouTube to stream daredevil stunts, or Google Play Music to get pumped for your own stunts. You can also mirror any website from the Chrome browser on your laptop. So whether you’re planning your next vacation and looking through flights and hotels with the family, or want to share a video from your last epic trip, just look for the Google Cast extension in the corner of your desktop browser.

The P-Series also supports casting Ultra HD (up to 4K) and Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range content (bright, clear colors!). Included with every P-series is VIZIO’s 6” Android tablet remote, a tablet that lives in the living room and can cast all your favorite content.

We’re also changing the name of the Chromecast app to Google Cast app, to better reflect that Google Cast technology is now supported across a wide range of devices such as Chromecast, TVs, displays and speakers. The Google Cast app makes it easy for you to discover great stuff to watch, find more apps, customize backdrop, and more. The updated Google Cast app will be rolling out this week on Android & iOS.

To learn more about Google Cast and the Google Cast app, visit our new website.

Adam Champy, Product Manager, Daily Daily Show Caster