WebRTC enables real-time communication such as videoconferencing in the browser. It consists of three independent components: getUserMedia, which provides access to the user’s webcam and microphone; PeerConnection, which sets up calls with the ability to traverse NATs and firewalls; and DataChannels, which establishes peer-to-peer data communication between browsers.
These three features have been enabled in desktop Chrome for a while, and today's release adds support in Chrome for Android. Now you can create real-time web experiences that work across device form factors. Watch the Google I/O presentation or call a friend from your browser to see more:
New capabilities for Chrome packaged apps
Today’s Chrome Beta channel brings Chrome packaged apps several new capabilities including richer access to Google services such as Google Analytics, Google APIs and Google Wallet, and better OS integration using services such as Bluetooth and native app communication. Read last week's Chromium Blog post to learn more.
XMLHttpRequest’s timeout property lets you set the number of milliseconds Chrome will wait for a server response. When the it expires, the request triggers a timeout callback.
We’ve removed support for multipart/x-mixed-replace main resources. We will continue to support multipart images and animated images.
Visit chromestatus.com for a complete overview of Chrome’s developer features, and circle +Google Chrome Developers for more frequent updates. We’re excited to see what you build!
Posted by Raymond Toy and Wei Jia, Software Engineers and Mobile Media Mavens
The Analytics API makes it easy for packaged app developers to collect user engagement data from their applications. Developers can then use Google Analytics reports to measure number of active users, adoption and usage of specific features, and many other useful metrics.
Enhancements to Media Gallery API
The Media Gallery API allows packaged apps to read media (music, videos and images) from the local disk with user consent. Starting with this release, a user’s iTunes music library will be available as a default media gallery, allowing apps to import and play locally stored music.
Bluetooth API
The Bluetooth API, based on the 4.0 specification, allows packaged apps to connect to Bluetooth devices such as smartphones and headsets. The API's Low Energy support allows Chrome packaged apps to automatically sync data from low energy health devices like fitness trackers and heart rate sensors.
Native Messaging API
The Native Messaging API allows Chrome packaged apps to communicate with native applications. This API can be used by a Chrome packaged app to communicate with native binaries that drive consumer electronics such as motion sensors or scanners.
During this preview period, packaged apps are available to Chrome Dev channel users in the Chrome Web Store. We've already seen lots of interesting packaged apps uploaded, and we look forward to seeing developers take advantage of these powerful new capabilities. We welcome your feedback on our G+ Developers page or on our developer forum.
