Version 60 of Google Chrome is rolling out now to macOS with the long awaited Touch Bar support. This release also adds support for a number of developer-focused features, including the Payment Request API and an updated Credential Management API.
After several months of testing in the beta and dev versions, Chrome for Mac is finally rolling out support for the Touch Bar in the stable channel. It’s slightly tweaked with the Omnibox for searching and entering URLs featuring a Google logo, while there is now a bookmark and new tab shortcut.
Users can also change the layout of the Touch Bar by heading to View > Customize Touch Bar in the menu bar. In addition to adding and removing buttons, there is also an option to disable typing suggestions.
Besides the new Mac functionality, Chrome 60 for desktops lacks many other user-facing features after the previous version rolled out a Material redesign of settings. However, there are a number of tools that web developers can take advantage of.
The CSS font-display property and CSS @font-face descriptor will allow for faster font loading by sites. In the past, the browser delayed rendering text until the corresponding font was downloaded. With these new additions, developers can specify how and when Chrome displays text content during the load.
Meanwhile, the Payment Request API for auto-filling checkout forms is now available on desktops, while on mobile it allows for native Android payment apps to leverage the API. Lastly, the Credential Management API is now simpler for developers to implement with user passwords now being returned directly.
Chrome 60 can be downloaded by heading to the three dot menu > Help > About Google Chrome and checking for updates.
