Chrome Gets MBP Retina Display Support In Beta Release

Apple may only have outed its Retina Display MacBook Pro on Monday, but Google's Chrome engineers already have a version of the browser ready to handle the 2880 x 1800 high-resolution screen. "We're committed to polishing Chrome until it shines on [the new Pro]" the Chrome team wrote this week, releasing an early version of the browser with basic Retina support, and promising more soon.

Right now, the developer version of Chrome has "basic high-resolution support" but the software engineers concede that they "have further to go over the next few weeks." You can download the Chrome Canary release here, but be warned it may not be as stable as the regular version.

Poor support from non-Apple apps is one of the biggest issues with the new MacBook Pro with Retina Display we discovered in our review. Apple has brought most of its key OS X apps up to speed with the high-resolution panel – Safari, iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto and more are on the list – and some third-party developers have also been working hard, but many apps and sites still look pixelated and underwhelming.

That will take time to address, though we're pleased to see Google reacting quickly since so many Mac users aren't willing to live solely with Safari.