The Chrome team has pushed the latest version of Google's popular web browser, Chrome 51, to the public channel. While it may not come with the same level of fanfare its predecessor enjoyed (the 50th release is a pretty significant milestone), it does include a number of bug fixes and general improvements which are always welcomed.
Perhaps the biggest new feature in Chrome 51 is support for the Credential Manager API which enables developers to store and retrieve password credentials and federated credentials. In layman's terms, it simply makes it easier for users to sign into the sites they visit or sign back in when a session expires.
Another major change is the fact that Chrome no longer runs the rendering pipeline or requestAnimationFrame() callbacks for cross-origin frames that are offscreen. Again, in layman's terms, this eliminates unnecessary work which can reduce power consumption by as much as 30 percent.
Chrome 51 includes 42 security fixes which, for some, may be reason enough to update. Google has highlighted on its Chrome blog the fixes that were contributed by external security researchers and how much they were paid (there are several $7,500 entries).
If you're already running Chrome, Google's built-in auto-update feature should take care of everything on your behalf. Those looking to try Chrome for the first time can download it now for Windows, Mac and Linux.