Google steps up Chrome release schedule

New version of browser promised every six weeks.

Google has sped up the release schedule for its Chrome web browser.

The company said that it would be reducing the time between updates by half, delivering a new stable version of the browser every six weeks.

Google program manager Anthony Laforge said that the move would allow developers greater flexibility to get new features into an update while maintaining a a set schedule for updates and allow new components to reach consumers in shorter amounts of time.

"With the new schedule, if a given feature is not complete, it will simply ride on the the next release train when it’s ready," Laforge wrote in a posting to the Chromium blog.

"Since those trains come quickly and regularly (every six weeks), there is less stress."

Laforge noted that the faster release schedule will mean less of a distinction between version numbers on the browser. Because new updates will progress at faster version rates, differences in version numbers may not necessarily indicate major changes in the browser itself.