Google yanks Apple Silicon Chrome port after browser is found to 'crash unexpectedly'
- Reference: 1605729308
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/18/google_pulls_apple_silicon_chrome_port/
- Source link:
"Earlier today we updated our Chrome download page to include a new version of Chrome optimized for new macOS devices featuring an Apple processor," Googler Craig [1]wrote on the Chrome support pages. "We've discovered that the version of Chrome made available for download today may crash unexpectedly."
At the time of writing, the macOS ARM64 port of the browser remains unavailable. Folks now face two options: use the standard x86_64 version, which will run happily on their Arm Mac via the [2]Rosetta 2 emulation layer , or if they managed to download the Apple Silicon port, use a workaround that involves giving Chrome access to the Mac's Bluetooth radio.
The emulated version shouldn't prove unbearably slow. Benchmarks of Apple's latest in binary translation tech shows Rosetta2 is roughly 20 per cent slower than the native equivalents. Given this is a fairly brisk chip to begin with, performance is [3]roughly comparable to what you'd get with a well-specced last-generation Mac.
Still, this episode is more than a touch embarrassing for Google, particularly given the pains made by Apple to ease the switch to Apple Silicon. These included a nearly six-months head start, as well as access to Arm-powered Developer Transition Kit machines, to iron out any kinks.
Released earlier this week, Chrome 87 comes with several performance enhancements, as well as changes designed to improve user security. Included is a fix for [4]the NAT Slipstream attack identified last month by hacker Samy Kamkar, plus new tab prioritisation tech, which Google [5]claims will reduce CPU utilisation by up to five times, reduce RAM usage, and extend battery life by up to 1.25 hours.
We've asked Google when it will re-upload the Apple Silicon port of Chrome, and will update this post should we hear back. ®
Updated to add
Google has now [6]emitted what it says is a fixed build of the Apple Arm port of Chrome.
Get our [7]Tech Resources
[1] https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/83557143?hl=en
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/18/apple_silicon_m1_mac_compatibility/
[3] https://browser.geekbench.com/mac-benchmarks
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/02/application_level_gateway_flaw/
[5] https://blog.google/products/chrome/faster-chrome/
[6] https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/83557143?hl=en&msgid=83762481
[7] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Apple Silicon SOC or ASS for short.
Apple Arm SoC v Apple Silicon
We try our best to say it's Arm compatible, or it's a desktop-grade Apple Arm-compatible SoC, and it's a case of whoever's working on a story remember to including it. We've written about the M1 a few times this week that it might be a given, but in case not, we've tweaked the piece.
'Arm compatible' is deliberate because Arm has, last time I heard, little to no involvement in the development of these cores. Apple follows the spec.
We have to use 'Apple Silicon' at some point in the article so that people searching with that term - in an outside engine or our own site search - will find this article.
There's biting the hand, and then there's blowing our brains out.
C.
Re: Apple Arm SoC v Apple Silicon
@diodesign, certainly agree that its not The Regs fault. You guys are just naming it how it is so the rest of the world knows what the heck the article is about.
Perhaps we do need a cool buzzword for it however?
- Apple [shatty] Silicon
- Apple Sillycon
- Sapple
- Applecon
- Shapple Shilicon
- Crapple Chips <---- My favorite
... nah, I'm no good at this. But from now on, I am going to try my hardest to coin the term 'Crapple Chips' whenever I can.
I think they're trying to hit the marketing point that the Apple chip is more than just a CPU — it's an ARM processor plus GPU, machine learning bit, security stuff and RAM. Per the image on Anandtech, the GPU looks like the physically-largest part, although not by a lot, with the machine learning segment about half the size of the four performance cores.
That said, nothing yet that calling it an SoC wouldn't normally cover, and apply your usual reverence towards marketing-derived naming.
Ah, that would be teh developer code we left in by mistake, it just needs to connect to your bluetooth so we upload to all your connected devices... ersorry all yoru connected devices can benefit from our targeted advertising and you can buy more stuff.
Just a thought
Maybe there's something in the Google code that reads the BT MAC to help generate a unique id for the installation?
unexpectedly
"Google yanks Apple Silicon Chrome port after browser is found to 'crash unexpectedly'"
Don't worry, they're working hard on fixing it to crash expectedly instead.
Re: unexpectedly
Or at the very least ensure that it sends off the remaining tracking data buffer just before the program terminates ;)
Why am I not surprised
That some Google software is broken if you don't enable Bluetooth. Getting every URL you browse and every search you make isn't enough for them, they apparently want to see what Bluetooth devices you have around you as well!
I am already sick of the term "Apple Silicon". Can we not use "Apple-flavoured ARM" or something more literal like that.
iPhones have been using this kind of vendor specific chips for years and it is only recently that Apple's marketing twits have pushed this dumb term, trying to make vendor lock-in sound trendy.