X

Chrome for Android to come out of beta 'in weeks'

Google expects to release the first stable version of Chrome for Android as soon as enough bugs are fixed, the executive in charge of the project says.

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Stephen Shankland
Chrome for Android overlays multiple tabs if you tap the tab button in the upper right.
Chrome for Android overlays multiple tabs if you tap the tab button in the upper right. screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

Google expects to bring its Chrome browser for Android out of beta testing "in a matter of weeks."

So said Sundar Pichai, senior vice president of Chrome and Apps, in an interview yesterday, shortly after Google released a Chrome for Android update that lets people view the desktop version of a Web page and add bookmarks to the browser's home screen.

"We launched beta 2. We addressed a few things," Pichai said. "Mainly right now, I'm driven by bug quality and stability. We are triaging, tracking, and trying to make it very stable. It is in a matter of weeks."

Google released the first Chrome for Android beta in February.

The browser has been well received, but it only runs on devices that use Android 4.0, aka Ice Cream Sandwich. Even though Google released the Android 4.0 source code in November, ICS phones still remain a relative rarity in the marketplace.