Chrome Dev for Android Update

Hi everyone! We've just released Chrome Dev 127 (127.0.6483.0) for Android. It's now available on Google Play.

You can see a partial list of the changes in the Git log. For details on new features, check out the Chromium blog, and for details on web platform updates, check here.

If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug.

Erhu Akpobaro
Google Chrome

Chrome Dev for Desktop Update

The Dev channel has been updated to 127.0.6485.0 for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.

Daniel Yip
Google Chrome

Avoid the Long Parameter List

This is another post in our Code Health series. A version of this post originally appeared in Google bathrooms worldwide as a Google Testing on the Toilet episode. You can download a printer-friendly version to display in your office.

By Gene Volovich

Have you seen code like this?

void transform(String fileIn, String fileOut, String separatorIn, String separatorOut);

This seems simple enough, but it can be difficult to remember the parameter ordering. It gets worse if you add more parameters (e.g., to specify the encoding, or to email the resulting file):

void transform(String fileIn, String fileOut, String separatorIn, String separatorOut,

    String encoding, String mailTo, String mailSubject, String mailTemplate);

To make the change, will you add another (overloaded) transform method? Or add more parameters to the existing method, and update every single call to transform? Neither seems satisfactory.

One solution is to encapsulate groups of the parameters into meaningful objects. The CsvFile class used here is a “value object” — simply a holder for the data.

class CsvFile {

  CsvFile(String filename, String separator, String encoding) { ... }

  String filename() { return filename; }

  String separator() { return separator; }

  String encoding() { return encoding; }

} // ... and do the same for the EmailMessage class

void transform(CsvFile src, CsvFile target, EmailMessage resultMsg) { ... }

How to define a value object varies by language. For example, in Java, you can use a record class, which is available in Java 16+ (for older versions of Java, you can use AutoValue to generate code for the value object); in Kotlin, you can use a data class; in C++, you can use an option struct.

Using a value object this way may still result in a long parameter list when instantiating it. Solutions for this vary by language. For example, in Python, you can use keyword arguments and default parameter values to shorten the parameter list; in Java, one option is to use the Builder pattern, which lets you call a separate function to set each field, and allows you to skip setting fields that have default values.

CsvFile src = CsvFile.builder().setFilename("a.txt").setSeparator(":").build();

CsvFile target = CsvFile.builder().setFilename("b.txt").setEncoding(UTF_8).build();

EmailMessage msg = 

    EmailMessage.builder().setMailTo(rcpt).setMailTemplate("template").build();

transform(src, target, msg);

Always try to group data that belongs together and break up long, complicated parameter lists. The result will be code that is easier to read and maintain, and harder to make mistakes with. 

Better te reo Māori access for tamariki in the digital space


Image: Tamariki using the new te reo Māori keyboard


Tēnā koe me mōrena whānau. Typing this phrase is now easier than ever with the new te reo Māori keyboard on my Chromebook.



In collaboration with PB Tech and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori - Māori Language Commission - we’ve supported the development of a special localised Chromebook that offers a reo Māori keyboard. Reaching the milestone of 5000 laptops delivered to tamariki across the motu, this kaupapa was first launched during last year’s Wiki o te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week.



The goal of this mahi is to empower New Zealanders to more easily use te reo in the digital space. The Chromebooks offer both physical keys for tohutō (macrons), single keys for frequently used Māori terms and te reo naming of keys such as tomo (enter). Chromebook users can access the shortcuts through a simple Chrome extension, created by the ChromeOS languages team. This significantly reduces the current barriers to using macrons on a standard QWERTY keyboard.



Image: Te reo Māori keyboard


Caroline Rainsford, Country Director of Google New Zealand said “I’m so proud that we’re part of this kaupapa to provide greater accessibility and therefore utilisation of te reo Māori on Chromebooks, which are the number one laptop used by kura. It’s so important that our kids’ have greater opportunity to use te reo digitally and I know these laptops will continue to have a positive impact across the country.”



Stan Fosenbauer, PB Tech Head of Education said, “Aotearoa New Zealand is about inclusion and it’s important that we recognise our official languages and represent them in our devices, for our students. So far with the devices delivered to over 120 schools, the response has been overwhelming! The strength of our partnership with Google has shone throughout this project as we worked closely on timings and the development of new features. In the future we hope to include even more of our local IT industry in this kaupapa.” 



“This was an exciting initiative to be a part of, not only does the reo Māori keyboard support

normalising te reo Māori every day within Aotearoa, this particular initiative is focused around Rangatahi in kura, and integrating reo Māori into the IT sector. This is another valuable contribution to achieving one million speakers of te reo Māori by 2040.” said Ngahiwi Apanui, Chief Executive of Te Taura Whiri I te Reo Māori.



Google also recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Te Taura Whiri to identify mutual areas for collaboration towards advancing access to the Māori language features within Google products.



It’s important to Google that all Kiwis have access to technology and tools to thrive in a digital future, and Chromebooks are an important tool for learning for many of our youngest New Zealanders through education. The development of a unique keyboard for Kiwis is just another way we can make sure our devices work for all New Zealanders.



Posted by Steve Smith, Google for Education Lead, Google New Zealand

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – May 17, 2024

3 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


Expanding Google Drive admin settings to additional Google Workspace editions 
We’re expanding the following admin settings to Google Workspace Cloud Identity Free, Cloud Identity Premium and Essentials Starter editions: 
  • Disable Drive Offline 
  • Disable Add-ons 
  • Disable SDK and Drive for Desktop Back-up & Sync 
  • Set Sharing settings including Trusted Domains 
Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 20, 204. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Frontline Starter, Frontline Standard, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, Cloud Identity Free, Cloud Identity Premium and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about managing external sharing for your organization. 


View recent shares in the Google Drive Activity page 
Google Drive’s Activity page shows pending access requests, recent comments, and approvals for files, allowing you to quickly view recent activity and take action, all in one place. Starting this week, we are adding recent file shares in the Drive Activity page, which includes who shared a file and when the file was shared. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains and Scheduled Release domains now. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and Google Workspace Individual subscribers. | Learn more about Activity in Drive. 
View recent shares in the Google Drive Activity page


Hover to preview videos in Google Drive 
We’re introducing a new feature that lets you quickly preview videos in Drive in List mode by simply hovering your mouse over their thumbnail. Upon hovering, the video will start to play automatically and clicking on the video will open it in full-screen. While the video is in preview mode, you can turn captions and the sound on or off using the icons in the top right corner. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for June 4, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about viewing & reordering your files and folders.

Hover to preview videos in Google Drive



Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Gemini (gemini.google.com) is now available to Google Workspace users in more territories and languages 
Gemini (gemini.google.com) is now available in more than 35 languages. | Learn more about additional languages for Gemini.

Gemini for Google Workspace feature Help me write now available in Spanish and Portuguese 
Help me write, an AI-powered writing features that help you quickly refine existing work or get you started with something new in Google Docs and Gmail using Gemini for Google Workspace, is now available in Spanish and Portuguese. | Learn more about Help me write in additional languages. 

Preview files in Google Drive with new hovercard feature 
We’re introducing file hovercards in Google Drive to improve this experience and help you complete tasks faster without having to open multiple tabs. Now, when you place your cursor over a file icon in Google Drive on the web, a hovercard will appear with a thumbnail of your file and other relevant information, such as file type, file owner, who recently modified the file and when they last modified the file. | Learn more about hovercards in Drive. 


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).