Chrome 72 Lands For PCs, Android And iOS: These New Features Await
Google released the latest update to its popular Chrome web browser that has a notable change in feature set. This new version has a handful of improvements, but unfortunately it also removes one feature from the web browser.
Starting with Chrome 72, you can no longer setup Chromecast devices using the Google Chrome web browser. You will still be able to stream content from your web browser to your Chromecast device, but you will first need to initialize and setup your Chromecast with an Android or iOS device.
It's unclear why Google opted to remove this feature from the Chrome web browser, but as virtually everyone has a smartphone nowadays, it shouldn't pose a serious inconvenience.
Google also reworked its Autofill function of Chrome. Until Chrome 72, all Autofill information was managed via the Passwords section of the settings menu. This has now been broken out into three sections, one for Passwords, one for Payment methods and one for Addresses and everything else that doesn't fall into the first two categories.
Security has also been stepped up in Chrome 72. Google's new Web Authentication API permits users to sign in with verification methods such as a security key and Trusted Platform Module. The web browser is also now integrated with Microsoft Windows' Web Authn API, which made it possible for Google to support Windows Hello user verification and a number of other minor features such as U2F over USB verification.
Chrome 72 will also support external authentication devices that connect over Bluetooth Low Energy on Mac and Chrome OS systems. Google also extended the script that blocked popups during page unload. Chrome's built-in popup blocker already prevented this from happening, but this feature is now universally enabled and cannot be switched off.
Chrome 72 is now available for Windows and Android. Chrome OS users will need to wait a few weeks for the update though, and there is no word on when the update will be available for iOS.
Starting with Chrome 72, you can no longer setup Chromecast devices using the Google Chrome web browser. You will still be able to stream content from your web browser to your Chromecast device, but you will first need to initialize and setup your Chromecast with an Android or iOS device.
It's unclear why Google opted to remove this feature from the Chrome web browser, but as virtually everyone has a smartphone nowadays, it shouldn't pose a serious inconvenience.
Google also reworked its Autofill function of Chrome. Until Chrome 72, all Autofill information was managed via the Passwords section of the settings menu. This has now been broken out into three sections, one for Passwords, one for Payment methods and one for Addresses and everything else that doesn't fall into the first two categories.
Security has also been stepped up in Chrome 72. Google's new Web Authentication API permits users to sign in with verification methods such as a security key and Trusted Platform Module. The web browser is also now integrated with Microsoft Windows' Web Authn API, which made it possible for Google to support Windows Hello user verification and a number of other minor features such as U2F over USB verification.
Chrome 72 will also support external authentication devices that connect over Bluetooth Low Energy on Mac and Chrome OS systems. Google also extended the script that blocked popups during page unload. Chrome's built-in popup blocker already prevented this from happening, but this feature is now universally enabled and cannot be switched off.
Chrome 72 is now available for Windows and Android. Chrome OS users will need to wait a few weeks for the update though, and there is no word on when the update will be available for iOS.
