Google confirms: Mac Chrome Beta for December; YouTube full high-def - next week

Google has confirmed its intent to deliver a beta version of its Google Chrome browser for the Mac by the end of the year, and expects to deliver the software in December.

“As I’m sure you know, we generally don’t comment about timelines for releasing specific features or products. But we’ve been quoted a few times saying Chrome for mac should be out by the end of the year,” Google told MG Siegler at TechCrunch.

The company also confirmed the version that ships will be a public beta. This follows numerous recent updates to the developer-only alpha versions of Chrome for Mac, which in their most recent iterations have been pretty much bug-free.

The only major element of the browser that isn’t fully implemented right now appears to be the Bookmark Manager, but the software already imports bookmarks from Safari and Firefox.

In other news from Google, YouTube has announced that from next week it will be adding 1080p support to its video playback options, effectively realising true high-def on its video sharing service.

“As resolution of consumer cameras increases, we want to make sure YouTube is the best home on the web to showcase your content. For viewers with big monitors and a fast computer, try switching to 1080p to get the most out of the fullscreen experience,” the development team revealed on the company blog.