Chrome 59 is rolling out now to Mac, Windows, and Linux with a number of developer-focused features and security fixes. The biggest addition is support for native macOS notifications and full support of the animated PNG format.

Under development for quite a while, the Material revamp of Settings is finally available with various controls now appearing and grouped together as cards.

A new blue action bar houses search, with a navigation drawer providing quicker access to various categories of settings like People, Appearance, and more. A dropdown for Advanced will reveal options for Languages, Printing, etc. The About Chrome page has also been redesigned in a similar style.

Google has long used its own system to send out web and app notifications, but Chrome 59 will finally adopt the native notification system on macOS. Visually, notifications will no longer appear as square cards, with the settings shortcut appearing when hovering over.

For developers, there is a migration guide for sending alerts via the Notifications API and chrome.notifications. Use of some low-usage API features are now discouraged as it degrades the experience on macOS.

This version also adds native support for animated PNGs. APNGs are similar to GIFs, but with support for both 24-bit images and 8-bit transparency. Long supported by Firefox, the format is gaining traction after Apple adopted it on iOS 10 for iMessage apps.

Version 59 also has a new feature that allows developers to run the browser from a command line. The Headless Chromium tool is specifically aimed at running automated testing and for server environments where a visible UI isn’t needed. Support is available on Mac and Linux, with a Windows implementation coming soon.

Chrome 59 for desktop is now available, with updates for Android and Chrome OS coming soon.

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