Google's Chrome browser has been updated for Android and the latest update to the browser adds features like background media playback to the app. Chrome 54, as its called, also carries certain performance improvements and bug fixes with itself. It is expected to roll out in the next few weeks.
With the addition of support for background media playback, users will be able to pause and play content from the notification itself. The update has further brought changes to the New Tab page which now includes suggested articles instead of bookmarks and recent tabs at the bottom of the page. Now, users will also be able to update their saved passwords when they change or reset it.
The update also brings some improvements for developers. Developers will now have an API that will allow their websites to switch to full-screen mode when the device is being used in landscape mode, without the requirement of pressing any button.
Further, the update brings along support for the Broadcast Channel API, which allows communication between different windows or tabs, iframes, and workers as long as they are on the same domain.
In line with its earlier announcement, Google has now confirmed that it will start to de-emphasise Flash in favour of HTML5 from September. Fast on the heels of Apple's Safari browser, Google has announced that Chrome will prioritise HTML5 content over Flash wherever possible. The tech giant wants to promote HTML5 as it provides faster load times and consumes less power as compared to Adobe Flash Player.
With its stable Chrome version 53 channel, Google will block Flash and encourage HTML5. For sites running solely on Flash, Google Chrome will speed-break on users' browsing experience and ask for permission to run.
"Today, more than 90% of Flash on the web loads behind the scenes to support things like page analytics. This kind of Flash slows you down, and starting this September, Chrome 53 will begin to block it," Google reasons on its blog.
With Chrome 55 in December, Google will make HTML5 the default. It will ask for permission to run Flash on specific sites that only support the Adobe software.
This move doesn't come as a surprise as Google had announced in May that it plans to reduce ties with Flash through the course of this year. It had announced that by the end of the year, Flash will only be available on click-to-play basis on Chrome
At that time, Google named ten most used websites that run Flash, and white-listed them to avoid over-prompting. The names of some of the white-list websites are YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo, Amazon, Yandex.ru, Live.com, Mail.ru, OK.ru, VK.com and Twitch.tv. These websites will have Flash Player running without any hiccups. However this white-list expires in one year, and by the end of 2017, these websites are expected to make the switch to HTML5.
Google admits Flash played a huge role in the adoption of video and gaming on the Web, but it's plain to see it failed to keep up with the momentum that's built up in the recent years. Because of that and various security threats that it poses, all browsers including Firefox, Safari, and Edge are now transitioning to HTML5.
Flash is dying, even Adobe knows that, but as Pixlr’s CEO points out, people outside the "tech bubble" don't really care what they're using as long as it works. This makes Flash more of a necessary evil than anything else, but it’s still more evil than it’s necessary.
Like Safari, Opera, Edge and Firefox before it, Google is also not really killing off Flash just yet. All they're doing is prioritizing HTML5 content over Flash content. If you come across a site with Flash content, Google won't stop you from viewing it.
As one developer points out, HTML5 is still not good enough or reliable enough to completely replace Flash, but it's getting there. Of course, making Flash open-source would go a long way towards improving its chances. I doubt Adobe would ever do that, however.
Flash needs to die, but before that happens, HTML needs to stabilize fully. Hopefully, that will happen soon.
