It’s true that most web browsers receive pretty frequent version updates.
For example, Google Chrome gets bumped up with a version number every four weeks.
Is it necessary anymore?
Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek
Chrome is by far the biggest offender when it comes to this.
Google regularly announces new Chrome web app features alongside version updates and they just… never come.
For example, price tracking wasannounced for Chrome in December 2022.
And this was not some feature noticed in beta channels—it wasannounced on the official Google blog.
What was the point of announcing it if it wasn’t ready for everyone?
Channel Surfing
Speaking ofbeta channels, that’s another reason why version numbers have lost meaning.
This is more of a problem with Chrome and Edge than other browsers.
Desktop vs.
Mobile
All these desktop browsers also have mobile versions that typically follow the same version number release cycle.
However, there are huge discrepancies between the platforms.
Price tracking in Chrome is another good example of this.
Chrome for Androidreceived a price tracking feature in December 2021.
In this case, it doesn’t make much sense to use the same version numbering for different platforms.
At this point in time, the version numbers for many browsers are getting very high.
Chrome, Firefox, and Edge have all already passed version 110.
Does it really mean anything to be onversion 110or111?
The features are what matter, and they don’t seem particularly intertwined with version numbers anymore.
It’s time for version numbers to go the way of the dinosaurs.
Consistent updates are important for security, but those are already happening without bumping up the main version number.
