Both Google and Microsoft announced the amendment of schedules for the release of new versions of Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, as well as the Google Chrome operating system, due to the turmoil caused by the Corona crisis in the work systems of the two companies. , Which forced them to issue orders for workers to work from home, and to restrict the movement of work to some of the main headquarters, especially the headquarters of the company, "Google", which is located in the "Mountain View" area in the "Santa Clara" southwest of San Francisco. Under these amendments, some versions will be skipped and not released, while the timing of launching some other versions will extend until next July.
The announcement of these amendments came in two separate statements, issued by the two companies, on the section on "Chrome" in the official blog of "chromereleases.googleblog.com" and the official blog of "blogs.windows.com".
Google adjustments
Google said that it had previously decided on March 10 that all North American employees work from home. Later, Santa Clara County, where the company’s headquarters is located, issued a decision that all of the province’s residents should remain in their homes, and as a result Google Chrome releases were suspended on March 18, then the Google Chrome 82 release, which was scheduled to be launched on March 28, was canceled.
"Google" went on to say that the versions of the "Google Chrome" browser and the "Chrome OS" operating system will be resumed within two weeks, according to a modified schedule as follows:
• Google Chrome 83 will be released three weeks before what was previously planned, and it will include all works, updates and features that were to be included in the canceled version of Google Chrome 82.
• The three development channels of the Google Chrome browser, the Dev channel for programmers, and the “Penta” channel during which the test versions are released, will be resumed, and the “Canary” channel will be transferred to the first respondents, and the version “Google Chrome 83” will be transferred to Dev channel.
• The work has been resumed on the last publishing channel, through which the final versions intended for download and operation are presented by users, and the “Google Chrome 80” version, which is provided with various security upgrades and updates, has been launched, as has the updated “Google Chrome 81” version, which is provided with security upgrades. And other updates, and then the new Google Chrome 83 release was released in mid-May.
• The date for the future update and the final stable version of the "Google Chrome 84" version, as well as the "Chrome OS" operating system, will be announced later, in light of developments in the situation.
And Google ended its statement by saying that it will keep everyone aware of any changes in the schedules of developing, modifying and publishing versions of "Google Chrome" and "Chrome OS", through its publication on this blog, and will publish any details related to the schedule of publishing and modifications of the browser kernel known as " As needed, ”and Google called on its product users to follow the blog to see any changes or modifications to be made at any time.
Microsoft adjustments
For its part, «Microsoft» said in its statement that in light of the current global conditions, the Microsoft Edge browser development team will stop the updates that are published through the publishing channel for the final fixed copies, which are intended for download by users for operation, and this suspension will be temporary, and will be arranged. He should not upgrade to Microsoft Edge 81 until these updates resume.
"Microsoft" added that taking this decision aims to make the amendment and change completely consistent with the changes taking place in the "nucleus" project at Google, which announced similar pauses and modified tables, in order to reduce the additional impact that the developers were exposed to. Web and related organizations.
Troubles until July
Commenting on this data, analysts specializing in browsers published a report on computerworld.com, in which they confirmed that these amendments make the usual Google Chrome schedule obsolete. Analysts expected that these amendments will cause turmoil in the update schedule for "Google Chrome" browser, OS "Chrome OS", and "Microsoft Edge" browser for a period that may extend to next July, before these programs restore the usual schedules of their development and update.
Firefox: No change
In return, Firefox confirmed that there is no change in the dates or schedules of Firefox’s browser updates and upgrades, and that updates, upgrades, and security fixes will continue to arrive on time as planned before.
The company pointed out that the effects caused by the Corona virus will be limited only to postpone some of the new features and features, to be paid late, as it will take longer, because the developers are working from home now.