If you just got a new M1 Mac, make sure you’re using the right version of Google Chrome

UPDATE 8/11/2022 5:32 PM ET: Google now offers a universal version of Google Chrome. It can run natively on Intel-based Macs and Apple Silicon (M1 and future versions).

I finally got my hands on Apple’s latest MacBook Pro with the M1 Max chip. So far, so good.

But one thing I noticed when running Google Chrome was that it wasn’t as fast as I thought it should be.

I was pretty much getting the same experience I had on my older 2015 MacBook. Something felt off.

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It turns out I was running the wrong version of Chrome. Apparently, Google has its own version specifically designed for Macs with the M1 chip.

I literally never knew this existed, even though it’s been covered pretty extensively.

Since I had Chrome installed on my Intel-based Mac, the previous version of Chrome was ported over to this new MacBook.

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This is the wrong version, and I needed to get the faster and better version installed on my machine.

Turns out, it’s super easy, and the results you see after installing are immediately noticeable. Here’s how to do it yourself.

How to install Google Chrome on new Macs with the M1 chip

UPDATE: Google now offers a universal version of Google Chrome. It can run natively on both Intel-based Macs and Apple Silicon (M1 and future versions). So downloading the universal version should do the trick. 

That’s it. Once installed, you should be running the latest version of Chrome optimized for your M1 Mac.

After installing it on my machine, I could tell right away that things were moving a whole lot quicker.

READ MORE: Chrome is now the fastest web browser for M1 Macs

One thing I noticed, however, is that basic things like Twitter videos were not loading on my timeline or other things like certain notifications weren’t showing up.

I’m not the only one with this issue, but as it turns out, I simply needed to clear out my browser cache. So far, this seems to have fixed those issues.

So yea, there you go. Don’t make the same mistake I made.

If you got your hands on a new Mac with the latest M1 chip, do yourself a favor and update to the correct version of Chrome.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.