Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

You can now use your MacBook Pro's Touch Bar to browse with Chrome 60

Mark Coppock
By

chrome 60 brings touch bar support apple macbook pro op ed
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Google Chrome 60 dropped today, bringing a fresh new version of the world’s most popular browser to millions of users. For most people, Chrome 60 won’t offer much in the way of visible changes, but MacOS users will find a particularly nice new feature in official Touch Bar support that will make that newer MacBook Pro a bit easier to use.

The new Touch Bar support was spotted by 9to5Mac, and Chrome 60 brings the functionality to the browser’s stable channel after a few months of being available to developers and beta users. For the most part, Touch Bar works with Chrome as it has during the preview period, with the main differences being a Google Logo added to the Omnibox for entering URLs and searches along with a new tab shortcut and bookmark feature.

9to5Mac
9to5Mac
Recommended Videos

If you’re a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar user and would like to check out the new Touch Bar support, first go to Chrome settings via the dot menu, selecting Help, and the About Google Chrome. Your update might already be waiting for you there, and if so, you’ll need to relaunch Chrome to run the newest version.

Related

You can also make the Touch Bar work in the most productive way for you by selecting View > Customize Touch Bar in the menu bar. There, you can alter the layout at your pleasure, as well as customize buttons and disable typing suggestions if desired.

In addition to Touch Bar support for MacOS users, Chrome 60 brings the usual security fixes — 40 of them in fact. You can check out all of the security updates at the Chrome Security Page. The Payment Request API is now supported on the desktop for auto-filled checkout forms. Most of the other changes are behind-the-scenes updates to make things easier for developers.

If you’re a Chrome user, then you’ll want to get your machine updated as soon as possible. While you won’t find nearly as many visual changes as Chrome 59’s introduction of the new Material design in the browser’s settings, you will benefit from a browser that’s more secure and provides more features for developers to leverage in enhancing your browsing experience.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock
Computing Writer
Mark has been a geek since MS-DOS gave way to Windows and the PalmPilot was a thing. He’s translated his love for…
Apple quietly backtracks on the MacBook Air’s biggest issue
The MacBook Air on a white table.

The new MacBook Air with M3 chip not only allows you to use it with two external displays, but it has also reportedly addressed a storage problem that plagued the previous M2 model. The laptop now finally has much faster storage performance since Apple has switched back to using two 128GB NAND modules instead of a single 256GB module on the SSD drive.

This was discovered by the YouTuber Max Tech, who tore down the entry-level model of the MacBook Air M3 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. In his tests, thanks to the two NAND modules, the M3 MacBook Air is nearly double faster than the M2 MacBook Air. Blackmagic Disk Speed tests show that the older M2 model with the problematic NAND chip had a 1584.3 Mb/s write speed, and the newer M3 model had 2108.9 Mb/s for the M3 model, for a 33% difference. In read speeds, it was 1576.4 Mb/s on the old model and 2880.2 Mb/s on the newer model.

Read more
Another excellent laptop challenges the MacBook Pro and falls short
The keyboard and trackpad of the MacBook Pro.

The MacBook Pro 16 remains undefeated as the best 16-inch laptop you can buy. From the incredible battery life to the impressive performance, the M3 Max MacBook Pro has become an unstoppable force.

Still, plenty of competitors have come along to potentially challenge it, and when I came across the updated HP Spectre x360 16, I wondered if it might make a worthy rival. As impressive as it is, though, it still doesn't have what it takes to dethrone the MacBook Pro.
Specs and configurations

Read more
Why one of my favorite laptops still struggles against the MacBook Pro
HP Spectre x360 14 2023 front angled view showing display and keyboard.

HP released an updated version of its premier consumer laptop, the excellent Spectre x360 14, and it remains one of the best 2-in-1s you can buy. It's well-made, offers a ton of flexibility, and is one of my favorite laptops I've reviewed.

But it's going up against the Apple MacBook Pro 14, which sits alongside the HP on our list of best laptops. When it comes to laptops that are both portable and powerful, though, the Spectre x360 still falls behind the MacBook Pro in some important ways.
Specs and configurations

Read more