TECH

Google Is Finally Switching Chrome for Android to 64-Bit

You may be surprised to hear that the version of Chrome running on the majority of Android devices isn't 64-bit. However, that's set to change with the release of Chrome 85.
As Android Police reports, even though Google has supported 64-bit builds of Android since 5.0, Chrome for Android has remained 32-bit. The latest stable (83) and beta (84) builds of Chrome for Android are also 32-bit, but the Chromium bug tracker confirmed that with Chrome 85, 64-bit binaries will be released for handsets running Android 10 onwards. Chrome 86 (Chrome Canary) is also 64-bit, confirming the future of Chrome for Android is 64-bit.
By making the switch, we can expect some performance improvements with Android Police confirming Octane 2.0 benchmarks are much improved compared to Chrome 83. The shift to 64-bit also brings with it some security enhancements, which are always welcome for devices we increasing use for shopping, banking, and payments.
There's a chance you may already be running a 64-bit version of Chrome 84 on your phone, but if so it's because Google is running a limited test before the roll out of Chrome 85. Apparently Samsung and OnePlus handset owners are the most likely to receive it if they are running Chrome 84 beta. Pixel 4 owners may also be 64-bit test subjects.

by Matthew Humphries