iPhone and iPad users just got these cool free Google Chrome upgrades

Google has updated Chrome with five new features – we take a look at them

Woman using iPhone SE 2022
(Image credit: Apple)

If you use one of the best iPhones or best iPads and are also a fan of Google's Chrome web browser then we've got good news for you.

That's because Google has announced a pretty sweet upgrade for Chrome for iOS and iPadOS, giving users an even better reason to download an alternative to Apple's Safari.

The update, available to download now, makes one of the best browsers even better by adding some much-needed features.

Traditionally, Apple has made it rather difficult to use anything besides the default Safari, but that isn't stopping Google from trying.

Starting with iOS 14, Apple has introduced a way to select the default browser that was a big boost for Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and other third-party alternatives.

Let's take a look at the five new features.

Enhanced Safe Browsing 

The biggest one of the bunch involves privacy, something Google has increasingly been focusing on as the European Union and other regulatory bodies question its relatively data-hungry practices. 

Already a feature on Chrome else, Enhanced Safe Browsing does what it says on the tin: protection from malware, phishing, and other web-based threats while you browse. 

Chrome will predict and warn users about potentially dangerous websites and will scan for compromised passwords and usernames. It's a pretty neat and useful feature. 

Autofill passwords 

If you're locked into the Chrome ecosystem (ie, you use it on desktop), then this is a great feature: the ability to autofill passwords

It takes a little bit more work, but head to Settings > Passwords > Autofill Passwords and select Chrome as the default option.  

Find new things

If you've spent some time away from Chrome, the update makes it easier to quickly and easily surface new content, just by starting a new search, expanding on the ability to sync bookmarks and tabs across different versions of Chrome. 

Get this: Google has released the feature on iOS first and says it will come to Android in the future. 

Translate websites 

Using machine learning smarts, Google will automatically begin to translate websites into your preferred languages, opening up huge swathes of the web to easy reading. 

Google says it has been working on detecting websites that need to be automatically translated, leading to a higher rate of successful translations. 

Chrome Actions 

Finally, Google has teased the release of Chrome Actions on iOS, letting you quickly trigger an action from Chrome's address bar. 

Actions include things like clearing browser data, opening an incognito tab, and setting Chrome as the default browser. 

After a while, the Chrome address bar will even begin to predict relevant actions that might help you out. 

Google says Actions will be rolling out in the coming weeks. 

Max Slater-Robins

Max Slater-Robins has written for T3 now on and off for over half a decade, with him fitting in serious study at university in between. Max is a tech expert and as such you'll find his words throughout T3.com, appearing in everything from reviews and features, to news and deals. Max is specifically a veteran when it comes round to deal hunting, with him seeing out multiple Black Friday campaigns to date.