14 DAY TRIAL // Google Chrome 18 is here, granted in the dev channel for now. Really adventurous users have been playing with it either in Chromium form or via the Canary Builds. But regular dev channel users have now been updated, as expected since Google Chrome 17 graduated to the beta channel last week.
The changes between the last Chrome 17 build and the new Chrome 18 are minor since the dev channel is where active development happens and new features are constantly added.
Still, it's a landmark as it symbolizes the start of a new cycle for Chrome. Chrome 18 will spend six weeks in the dev channel, six more in the beta channel and only then be released to most users, so it's going to be a while before most people will benefit from the new features and changes.
What's more, the bulk of the new features and improvements will land in the six weeks Chrome 18 spends in the dev channel.
One thing that is already included in Google Chrome 18 is the ability to pull the user name and the avatar from the Google account when syncing. This will come in handy when using multiple profiles on the same Google Chrome install.
Security has also been improved since Chrome now rejects weak RSA and DSA keys used by HTTPS connections, alerting users that their secure connection may not be so secure.
Interesting to note is that the new Google Chrome is labeled as 18.0.1003.1, the build number is now over 1,000. Those that have been following Chrome know that this is the part of the version number that is more accurately tracking progress, new features and changes generally result in an increment of this number. The version number is only there to make it easier for people to know which Chrome they're running.