Chrome Version 64 is Out
An even stronger pop-up blocker…
Chrome 64 arrives with stronger pop-up blocker and new developer features
Venturebeat – By: Emil Protalinski – “Google today launched Chrome 64 for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Additions in this release include a stronger pop-up blocker and a slew of developer features. You can update to the latest version now using the browser’s built-in silent updater or download it directly from google.com/chrome.
Chrome is arguably more than a browser. With over 1 billion users, it’s a major platform that web developers have to consider. In fact, with Chrome’s regular additions and changes, developers have to keep up to ensure they are taking advantage of everything available.
First up, Chrome 64 has a stronger pop-up blocker that prevents sites with abusive experiences from opening new tabs or windows. These include third-party websites disguised as play buttons, other site controls, or even transparent overlays on websites that capture all clicks. If you’re a site owner, you can use the Abusive Experiences Report in the Google Search Console to see if your site has been found with abusive experiences.
Chrome 64 also brings support for the Resize Observer API, which gives web applications finer control over changes to sizes of elements on a page. Responsive web apps currently use CSS media queries or window.onresize to build responsive components that adapt to different viewport sizes, but these are both global signals and require the overall viewport to change in order for the site to respond accordingly.
Chrome now also supports the import.meta property within JavaScript modules that expose the module URL via import.meta.url. This is useful to developers writing JavaScript modules who want access to host-specific metadata about the current module or library authors who want to access the URL of the module being bundled into the library.
Developers will also want to know that Chrome 64 includes an update to the V8 JavaScript engine: version 6.4. You can expect the usual speed and memory improvements, plus new ECMAScript language features. Check out the summary of API changes for more information.
Chrome 64 was supposed to stop sites from autoplaying content with sound. We tested this and it appears the feature has not been turned on, even though it does work in non-stable versions.
Chrome 63 was supposed to include an option to completely disable audio for whole sites. It didn’t make it into that version, but it is available in Chrome 64, so it’s possible Google might simply be running behind schedule. Presumably by Chrome 65, if not sooner, Google’s browser will disable all autoplaying content with sound.
In related news, Google released Chrome 64 for Android yesterday. In addition to the usual performance and stability improvements, this version has the same stronger ad blocker as the desktop version that prevents sites with abusive ad experiences from opening new windows or tabs.”