We keep hearing about all these different versions of Chrome, which can be confusing for the general consumer. Which one to pick? Last week we told you the differences between Chrome Channels (Stable, Beta and Dev), but there is another version that is much more different – Chromium.
Popular Googler François Beaufort is back this week with another video discussion, in which he compares Chromium to the Google Chrome browser. It’s important to compare it to Chrome in general, because Chromium is not really another version within Chrome. It’s a separate browser, intended for different purposes.
What is the difference between Chromium and Chrome?
Chromium is an open-sourced project that includes 3 parts: the browser, Blink and Chrome OS. Chromium is great for developers and those who like experimenting with Chrome-related features. Chromium is updated daily, which is a big deal. There are some things to keep in mind, though.
Because of its nature and licensing differences, Chromium doesn’t operate the same as its consumer-ready counter parts. Chromium doesn’t have Adobe Flash and PDF embedded, for example. This functionality has to be added in the form of plugins.
In addition Chromium is not updated automatically. You will have to update it manually whenever you wish to get the latest version of Chromium. The lack of said features may make Chromium sound inferior, but this open-source project is not really meant to be consumer-friendly. Many users claim it’s more private, though, which you may love.
The discussion
In the video above, François Beaufort goes through all the main differences between Chromium and Chrome OS. From the logo to the features, he does a very good job at letting the user know what these are both all about.
He also mentions Chrome Canary as a good alternative for those who want a simpler experimental way of testing Chrome’s new features. Check out the video and let us know what you think! Are you using Chromium? If so, what are your reasons?
