Google releases 64-bit version of Chrome for Windows

Google has released a stable 64bit version of Chrome for Windows. Users who want to try out the 64-bit version will have to download it manually: users of the 32-bit version will not receive it automatically.

A beta of the 64-bit version of Chrome for Windows was already released at the end of July, but now the code has been found stable enough for an official release, Google announced. The introduction of the 64-bit version coincides with the release of Chrome 37, but Chrome users don’t get the 64-bit version automatically: they have to manually choose it on the Chrome site.

According to Google, the 64-bit version offers many advantages: for example, there is a performance improvement of 15 percent when decoding HD video. That’s because 64-bit processing can make use of processor and compiler optimizations and because of the more modern instruction set, Google said earlier. In addition, security is improved because OS functionality such as High Entropy ASLR on Windows 8 can now be used. Furthermore, the 64bit browser would crash half as much during rendering as the 32bit version.

Google promises to continue to support the 32-bit Windows version in the coming period. So far, according to the company, there’s only one serious flaw, and that’s that traditional plugins don’t work with the 64-bit version. However, such plugins, which still use Netscape’s plugin API, will be phased out by the end of this year. It is unknown when users of the 32bit version will be automatically migrated to the 64bit version.