Google has only just announced significant cuts to Chrome browser development. But today it is taking things even further.
In a shock move first spotted by ChromeUnboxed, Google has warned users that the the impact of COVID-19 means it has had to scrap the next major release of Chrome entirely.
03/25 Update: Microsoft has now followed in Google's steps, confirming it will also cancel the next major version of Edge. Given that Edge is now built on a Chromium core like Google Chrome, Microsoft had little choice but to follow suit. "In light of the current circumstances, the Edge team will pause updating the Stable channel to Edge 81 consistent with the Chromium Project. We are committed to continued security and stability updates to Edge 80. We’ll have more to share on this next week," the company explained. Opera is also based on Chromium and while it has not made an announcement to stall new versions, that seems like a matter of time. Firefox, on the other hand, is based on its own Gecko engine and it remains to be seen whether the company chooses to continue releasing new versions at this time.
03/26 Update: In a surprising move, Google has now decided it will resume Chrome and Chrome OS release updates. Here is the new timetable:
- M83 will be released three weeks earlier than previously planned and will include all M82 work as we cancelled the M82 release (all channels).
- Our Canary, Dev and Beta channels have or will resume this week, with M83 moving to Dev, and M81 continuing in Beta.
- Our Stable channel will resume release next week with security and critical fixes in M80, followed by the release of M81 the week of April 7, and M83 ~mid-May.
- We will share a future update on the timing of the M84 branch and releases.
