Chrome for Apple’s M1 Macs has been released, a specially-developed version of the browser for Apple Silicon, a day after Google had to pull down its first attempt over stability issues. Attempts to download Chrome now bring up two different options: you can either have Chrome for a Mac with an Intel chip, or Chrome for a Mac with an Apple chip.
This app is just fine on mobile platforms. My brand new Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM was running the fan like crazy and couldn't even keep websites loaded. I checked the wifi, closed and reloaded tabs, did updates, etc. Nothing helped, and I was feeling like a I might have a serious problem. A Mac user’s guide to the Google Chrome browser Though Safari is the default browser for most mac OS users, some have to use Chrome. Select Downloads, then select googlechrome.dmg from the list. Drag Google Chrome to the Applications shortcut. Once Chrome has finished copying, drag the mounted installer disk image for Chrome from your Desktop to the Trash to unmount it. You do not need the installer now that Chrome is installed. 'View in Google Earth on Web' button opens the current view in Google Earth on web. When you add a photo to a placemark, the placemark can be automatically repositioned to the GPS location of the photo. Fixes connectivity issues sometimes seen after reconnecting to WiFi. GPS imports now support GeoJSON format. Get more done with the new Google Chrome. A more simple, secure, and faster web browser than ever, with Google’s smarts built-in.
The native app promises performance improvements, rather than relying on Apple’s Rosetta 2 emulation as the x86 Intel version would require. Apple has made some big claims about Rosetta’s capabilities – including suggestions that emulated apps can actually run faster on M1-based Macs than they do on Intel versions – but the company’s clear hope is for native software to become the norm.
Google’s Chrome team was early to that process, quietly pushing out a native M1 version of the browser yesterday. Quickly spotted by Chrome users, it ended in an aborted rollout after reports of unexpected crashes on M1-based models like the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro 13, and Mac mini. The Chrome team promised a second attempt today, and that’s now been launched.
Those who have one of the newest Macs, and who use Chrome, shouldn’t really see much in the way of differences beyond speed. Both versions will benefit from Google’s latest improvements in performance and memory utilization, Chrome 87 being pushed out earlier this week with some significant promises.
Chrome’s CPU usage could be cut by a fifth, Google’s team said at the time, while battery usage could see a 1.25 hour improvement. Desktop Chrome starts faster, and loads pages faster, Google promised, while new actions had been added along with improvements to how tabs can be managed.
The challenge, of course, is Safari. Apple’s browser has the benefit of its developers being in-house with the designers of Apple Silicon itself, and the Cupertino firm hasn’t been shy in promising advantages in performance and memory use when Mac owners stick with the homegrown software.