Do you like to try out new features for Google Chrome with the Dev and Beta versions, but would also like to have the regular Chrome version running along with the dev version? Google has just made it easier for Chrome users to use both versions simultaneously.
Google Chrome’s team added a new releases channel for early adopters and developers – Canary builds. If you install Beta or Dev version of Chrome the regular version gets overwritten. Canary builds can be installed without overwriting a regular Chrome build.
That means you can install both a Canary build and a regular build that could be on the stable, beta or dev channel. If due to some new update, the browser goes bust you can always fall back to the regular version.
Google Chrome Canary Version Details:
Google Chrome canary build (Windows only for now) which will be installed to different path, get updated separately, and run side by side with existing stable/beta/dev installation.
Installation is straightforward and easy – just like any other chrome version. You can download the installer for Chrome Canary version here.
Bleeding-Edge Chrome Version:
Canary will be the most bleeding-edge of all Chrome builds. Google has announced it would be speeding up the Chrome development cycle to push major milestone releases more often.
This increased speed means it will need to begin testing new features in the wild sooner and collecting feedback more quickly and Canary allows Google to get faster feedback and collect more crash statistics to implement bug fixes.
The Canary version of Chrome usually updates more often than the Dev channel (higher risk
of bustage), and the developers are working on making it update as soon as they have
successful nightly builds.
This means now Google Chrome has 4 different versions. The regular version(stable), Beta, Dev and Canary. The former being the the most stable while Canary being the one with the absolute latest features.
The icon for the Canary build is different from that of Regular/Dev/Beta version to help you choose the browser version to run.
Having a Chrome build that lets one try out the latest features, without actually causing issues in their regularly used Chrome version might encourage more users to participate in the testing.
