Google speeds up the Chrome release cycle every four weeks
Google is clearly moving Chrome to a more frequent release schedule, as it announced that it is pushing out important future releases that add new features every four weeks.
The search giant explains that it is speeding up the release of Chrome updates, so that it releases a new version of Chrome every four weeks, instead of every six weeks, starting with version 94 of Chrome in the third quarter of 2021.
It is noteworthy that this is the first time that Google has speeded up its browser release schedule in more than a decade.
Alex Mineer, Technical Program Manager at Chrome, explains: Given that we improved our testing and release processes for Chrome, and published security updates every two weeks to improve the patch gap, it became clear that we could shorten the release cycle and introduce new features faster. .
This step works to make the Google browser compatible with Firefox, which has been under a monthly update since the beginning of last year.
In order to accommodate enterprise customers who may not want to see changes frequently, Google is also adding an Extended Stable option.
As consumers see a new version of the browser every month, IT administrators will be able to choose the Extended Stable option, which brings major releases every eight weeks.
The Extended Stable option is available to enterprise IT administrators who need additional time to manage updates in their environments.
Security updates are released via Extended Stable every two weeks to fix important issues, but these updates will not contain new features or all of the security fixes that the 4-week option receives.
Google says it is also planning multiple options for the stable release of Chrome OS, and is sharing details with Chrome OS administrators in the coming months.
Google has updated its new release schedule documents, and has also published an initial update to the version calendar, which remains updated as it approaches the launch of the new release schedule.
And given that other popular browsers, such as Microsoft Edge and Brave, also use Chromium, Brave said it plans to move to a four-week release cycle as well, instead of the current three-week cycle.