Google Chrome for Mac goes beta!

Tuesday, December 08, 2009 at 7:19 AM

73,804 lines of Mac-specific code and 29 developer builds later, we're excited to finally release Google Chrome for Mac in beta. We took a hefty dose of goodness from the Windows version to build a fast, polished browser for Mac -- with features such as the Omnibox (where you can both search and type in addresses), themes from artists, and most importantly, speed. Try downloading Google Chrome for Mac and see what you think.

We also took great care to make Google Chrome a native application for Mac. For example, we integrated the Keychain into Google Chrome for Mac, and incorporated Mac-style animations when you open the Bookmarks bar.

For more details on today's beta release of Google Chrome for Mac, check out the video below.



To our early users who tried the weekly developer channel builds and provided excellent feedback, we thank you. In bringing the Mac version of Google Chrome from its developer stages to a beta standard, we returned to the core principles of the Chromium project and focused on delivering rock-solid depth in a few critical areas for the browser, rather than a breadth of features that are rough around the edges. This first beta release for Mac does not yet incorporate extensions, bookmark sync, bookmark manager, and cookie manager. However, we focused on features such as sandboxing our renderer process to help provide a safer web experience for our users. We look forward to future releases of Google Chrome for Mac, which will fill in the gaps and provide a fast, clean browser for your enjoyment on Mac OS X.

Can't wait for more info? Read our frequently-updated detailed status, or keep an eye on some Mac-specific sections of the source code. Don't forget to give Google Chrome for Mac a try, and let us know what you think.

Google Chrome for Mac, on the New Tab page


Google Chrome for Mac, with an artist theme