Chrome browser release channels

As a Chrome administrator, you can choose when to roll out Chrome browser updates to your users by placing them on a release channel. Chrome browser provides 5 channels: Stable, Extended stable, Beta, Dev, and Canary.

See below for recommendations.

For detailed information, see the Chromium developer site.

Keep most users on the Stable Channel

The Stable channel has been fully tested by the Chrome test team and should be used by most of your users.  

It's updated every 2-3 weeks for minor releases, and every 4 weeks for major releases.

Keep some users on the Extended stable channel

Users on the Extended stable channel get feature updates less frequently, but still receive security fixes. If you manually update to new releases of Chrome and want a slower release cadence, you might prefer the Extended stable channel. 

This channel is updated every 8 weeks. 

Keep 5% of users on the Beta channel

  • Users on the Beta channel get a 4–6 week preview of what’s coming to the Stable version of Chrome.
  • Some features might require you to communicate additional information to your organization.
  • Users on the Beta channel can discover possible issues with a release, giving you time to address the issues before the release is rolled out to everyone else.

Deploy Chrome Beta to your users on Windows | Mac | Linux.  

Keep IT staff on the Beta or Dev channel 

Developers can test your organization’s apps on the Dev channel to make sure they’re compatible with Chrome’s latest API and feature changes. Keep in mind:

  • The Dev channel isn’t 100% stable, but developers can use it to get a 9–12 week preview of what’s coming to the stable version of Chrome.
  • We try to fix most issues before a release is marked stable. However, we might not catch all cases that impact your environment. Your developers and IT staff can identify and report any changes that impact your environment on the Chromium site.

Download policy templates for the Beta channel | Dev channel

Use Canary for testing only

Canary is a future version of Chrome that’s still in development. Features appear and disappear, making it unstable for everyday use. We recommend that you don’t use the Canary channel unless Google Cloud Support asks you to test it.

Note: In the Admin console, there are currently 4 channels available: Stable, Beta, Dev, and Extended stable. Canary is not available.

 

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