Google Chrome is one of the most popular internet browsers in the world. With the desktop variant accounting for 67.09% of desktop browser share all over the world in March of 2021, Chrome is certain to retain its position as the most used browser for a long time to come.
Google Chrome 89 come out in early March, with Google recently launching Chrome 90. What it means that Chrome 91 will soon make its way on the public beta, with official release slated for 25 May.
What’s new in Chrome 90?
If we closely look at Chrome 90, we can notice that there are three major changes that can be found in the newest version of the browser. The first one is the newly added AV1 decoder, the other one is the read only clipboard and the last one is the blocked HTTP Port 554.
Talking about the newly added AV1 decoder, Google has finally decided to use the technology in its browser. The video format was created by the Open Media Alliance, which Google itself leads since June of 2018. Compared to H.265, the AV1 is completely open source and free to use.
Moreover, it is known for its higher compression rate compared to the more popular video formats such as VP9 or H.265. This results in a higher image quality using the same amount of bandwidth the other decoders use.
All the latest hardware include support for the AV1 format, including the latest AMD RX 600 series, the MediaTek Dimensity 1000 series (for mobile) and Intel’s Tiger Lake 11 Generation. Additionally, the RTX 30 series also supports the AV1 format.
Moving onto Google’s decision to block port 554, the tech giant had done it in the past for a brief period of time. But it received a huge backlash from various corporate users. However, this time, it has been blocked for good, due to some vulnerabilities allowing hackers to gain access to the machine using the port. According to the Google Chrome Dev Channel, only 0.00003% of requests are made using port 554.
Users are advised to upgrade Google Chrome using the automatic update system. Alternatively, you can also download the latest package from the official Chrome website.
