Google today rolled out a new Chrome beta for OS X — officially dubbed Chrome Canary — which finally takes advantage of the 64-bit processors built into the latest Macs. The change should mean better performance when browsing the web, but it isn’t quite ready to become your daily driver just yet.

Because this is a beta release, it may not be completely stable, and it usually has a tendency to crash. But Canary can be installed alongside regular Chrome releases, so there’s no reason why you can’t try it out now and continue to use your existing Chrome install alongside it.

The release confirms that a 64-bit Chrome browser is just around the corner for OS X (finally!). Google has actually been seeding 64-bit beta builds for a while now, OMGChrome reports — since version 38.0.2065.0 — so a public rollout may come sooner than we think.

Windows users got their first 64-bit Chrome release more than two months ago, and Google says the change has led to a 25% boost in performance and improved stability. Mac users can expect much of the same, but it’ll be a little while before we can accurately gauge just how significant those changes will be.

Don’t worry if you’re still using a 32-bit machine: Chrome will not auto-update to incompatible releases, so even when the 64-bit release starts rolling out to the public, it will simply be blocked on your machine and won’t overwrite your existing 32-bit install.

To get your hands on the latest Canary build, follow the source link below. Just remember that it might crash and therefore should only be used for testing rather than anything important.

• SourceChrome Canary
• Google Play StoreOMGChrome