Google updates the stable version of its Chrome web browser every week right now. It gets one major version bump, for instance from version 145 to 146, and three point updates. The big update introduces new features and changes plus security updates, the point updates usually only security fixes and major bug fixes.
Google announced a major change to the browser’s release cycle today on the official Chrome for Developers blog. “Starting September 2026, Chrome will move to a two-week release cycle”, writes Google on the blog.
Google continues:
The new release cycle means that a new beta and stable version of Chrome will ship every two weeks, starting from the stable release of Chrome 153 on September 8th. This applies to all platforms—Desktop, Android, and iOS. There will be no changes to the Dev and the Canary channels.
The company explains that this is done to “match the demands of a modern web” by providing developers and users with “immediate access to the latest performance improvements, fixes and new capabilities”. It may also help Google reclaim the (major) browser rank with the highest version, a coveted rank that it lost recently to Mozilla’s Firefox web browser.
The changes apply to stable Chrome on all platforms only. The Extended Stable release is not affected by this. It has a different schedule, as it is updated on an eight-week cycle. Similarly, Beta and Canary channels are also not affected by the change.
While the change may not look like big, as Google retains the number of Chrome releases in a month, it is far from small either. Security updates install without major problems usually, but this can’t be said for a browser release that introduces changes or new features.
With two coming each month, users have to keep a good eye on the changes and better increase the number of backups that they make before installing new software to account for potential issues arising from this.
While I won’t cover all Chrome releases here on Chipp, you can expect me to cover those that are causing major issues.