It is now exactly 4 weeks since Google Chrome 100 was released, and now it is time for Chrome 101. Google has released Chrome 101 on the stable channel for desktops, as well as other platforms which include Android, Chrome OS, macOS, etc. The complete build number for this release is 101.0.4951.41.
Chrome 101 offers some exciting new features. However, since they are still experimental, they need to be enabled through Chrome flags. Along with these features, 30 security improvements have also been made, out of which 7 are deemed of high importance.
Let us now dig a little deeper into the new features and then you can decide whether to upgrade to this version or make a fresh install using the given links below.
Table of contents
Release Summary
- Complete Release Build: 101.0.4951.41
- Release Date: Tuesday, April 26th, 2022
- Compatibility: Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android.
- Previous Build: Chrome 100.0.4896.60
- Bug Fixes: 30. More information about security fixes can be found here.
New in Chrome 101
Improved Downloads User Interface
You can now view the latest and current downloads in a flyout that can be expanded from the top of the Chrome browser. Not only that, Chrome will also display the progress bar of downloads with the activation of a flag.
The new improvement also gives the user more control through the context menu in the flyout that allows you to automatically open the download file when it completes, pause it, and other options.
To enable this feature, perform these steps:
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Paste the following into Chrome’s address bar and hit Enter.
chrome://flags/#download-bubble
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Here, expand the drop-down menu in front of “Enable download bubble” and select Enabled. Then click Relaunch to implement the changes.
Enable improved downloads UI
When Chrome relaunches, you will see your downloads from the above menu, rather than displaying them in a horizontal bar at the bottom.
Save Grouped Tabs
This feature was first introduced in Chrome 95. However, it has since been in an experimental phase. With Chrome 101, it has seen significant improvement.
Saving grouped tabs allows you to save any open tabs within a group, so you can return to them even if you close the browser or reboot your PC.
Since this, too, is an experimental feature at the moment, it needs to be enabled via a Chrome flag. Here is how:
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Paste the following into Chrome’s address bar and hit Enter.
chrome://flags/#tab-groups-save
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Here, expand the drop-down menu in front of “Tab Groups Save” and select Enabled. Then click Relaunch to implement the changes.
Enable saving grouped tabs
Once the browser relaunches, you can save the group while creating it by switching the slider in front of the Save Group to the On position.
Manually Add Passwords and Notes
Chrome 101 now allows you to add passwords manually through the Password Manager.
Additionally, you can also add a custom note to your password, which can contain anything, such as a password hint, a security question, etc. This note field appears when you attempt to edit a saved password.
Here are the steps to enable these flags:
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Paste the following into Chrome’s address bar and hit Enter.
chrome://flags/#password-notes
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Expand the drop-down menu in front of “Password notes in settings” and select Enabled.
Enable password notes -
Now paste the following into the address bar:
chrome://flags/#add-passwords-in-settings
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Now expand the drop-down menu in front of “Add passwords in settings” and select Enabled. Then click Relaunch to implement the changes.
Enable adding passwords manually
Upgrade to Chrome 101
If you already have Google Chrome installed on your computer, then updating it would be easy. Follow the guide below to update your existing Chrome browser to version 101.
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Launch Google Chrome and click on the ellipses (3 dots) in the top-right corner of the browser. Then, expand Help, and click About Google Chrome.
About Google Chrome -
As soon as the About page opens, the browser will start searching for an update and then automatically download it. Once it is ready to install, you will be presented with a Relaunch button. Click Relaunch.
Note: The browser closes when you click Relaunch and then reopens, restoring all closed tabs.
Relaunch Chrome
The browser will now close and reopen. Once it does, you can navigate to the About Google Chrome page again and confirm that it has indeed been updated to version 101.
There are a few different methods that can also be used to update your Chrome browser to the latest version, including:
- Update using Google update
- Use the downloaded Chrome installer
- Using Ninite
- Download Chrome without using a browser
You can learn more about these methods in this guidepost.
You may also download the Chrome browser from the links given below if you do not already have it.
Download Google Chrome 101
Click on the links below to download Chrome 101:
Download: Google Chrome web installer
Download: Google Chrome offline installer
Download: Google Chrome MSI Installer [Enterprise Edition]
Download: Google Chrome for macOS
Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer for Linux
Download: Google Chrome for Android
Download: Google Chrome for iOS
Download: Google Chrome Portable
Install Google Chrome 101
Installing the Chrome browser on a Windows PC is as easy as downloading them. The process may vary for different platforms.
Download the file from the links above and then double-click it to execute. The rest of the process is pretty much automatic. The setup will download the required files (if the web installer was downloaded), install them for you and the browser will launch itself as soon as it is installed successfully.
The process is the same for all Windows versions.
Google Chrome Releases Version History
| Chrome Version | Release Date | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome 120 | 29-Nov-23 | Auto-grouping of tabs using AI, copy and save video frames, pin side panel elements to toolbar, improved transparent navigation bar on Android |
| Chrome 119 | 31-Oct-23 | 15 security updates, save and sync grouped tabs, smart Omnibox with typo detection, and continue where you left off on another device for iOS. |
| Chrome 118 | 10-Oct-23 | 20 security patches, extended Passkey support, Read Aloud in Reading Mode |
| Chrome 117 | 12-Sep-23 | New Material You designs, intimation of potentially malicious web store extensions. |
| Chrome 116 | 15-Aug-23 | Security update cadence changed to weekly from biweekly, One-Time permissions, 26 security patches |
| Chrome 115 | 12-Jul-23 | Includes Topics API (Privacy Sandbox), reading mode, improved Memory Saver UI, HTTP automatic conversion to HTTPS |
| Chrome 114 | 30-May-23 | Improves the Google Password Manager, introduces Popover API for developers, and adds auto-verification of CAPTCHAs. |
| Chrome 113 | 26-Apr-23 | Makes notes in the sidebar, deletes the last 15-minute browsing history on Android, adds a bookmark or translate button in the toolbar on Android, enable or disables all extensions, and WebGPU enabled by default. |
| Chrome 112 | 4-Apr-23 | Removal of Chrome app support, improved UI (experimental), CSS Nesting, WebAssembly Tail Call |
| Chrome 111 | 6-Mar-23 | Automatic lazy-loading, sharing selected regions of the screen, and several improvements for Chromebooks |
| Chrome 110 | 7-Feb-23 | Improved Password Manager and Google Translate controls, Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State, opt-out support for Secure Payment Confirmation |
| Chrome 109 | 10-Jan-23 | Conditional focus on screen sharing, Material You theming support |
| Chrome 108 | 29-Nov-22 | Evergy saver mode, COLRv1 fonts, resize virtual keyboards (Android) |
| Chrome 107 | 25-Oct-22 | HEVC hardware decoding, screen-sharing improvements, and User-Agent reduction (Phase 5) |
| Chrome 106 | 28-Sep-22 | Selective text translation, integrated RSS reader, and advanced search improvements to Omnibox. |
| Chrome 105 | 30-Aug-22 | Improvements for web applications in terms of customizations |
| Chrome 104 | 2-Aug-22 | Automatic lazy-loading, share selected regions of the screen, and several improvements for Chromebooks |
| Chrome 103 | 21-Jun-22 | Pre-fetch page data for faster loading, local fonts for web apps, and block notifications automatically. |
| Chrome 102 | 24-May-22 | Extensions Starter Kit, New Keyboard Shortcuts, And Continued Searches |
| Chrome 101 | 26-Apr-22 | Improved downloads UI, save group tabs, and password manager |
| Chrome 100 | 29-Mar-22 | Multi-screen API, audio controls |
| Chrome 99 | 1-Mar-22 | Handwriting Recognition, Date Picker, And Security Improvements |
| Chrome 98 | 1-Feb-22 | Built-in screenshot tool, smoother emojis with COLRv1, Emojis to screenshots on Android |
| Chrome 97 | 4-Jan-22 | Delete data saved by websites, zoom settings, better web application layouts, HDR enabled |
| Chrome 96 | 15-Nov-21 | Faster navigation, dark mode per site, flags for testing v100 |
| Chrome 95 | 19-Oct-21 | Save grouped tabs, secure payments |
| Chrome 94 | 21-Sep-21 | HTTPS-only mode, sharing hub |
| Chrome 90 | 15-Apr-21 | AV1 codecs support, window naming feature |
| Download Google Chrome Offline Installers [Stable, Beta, Canary] |
