Google has updated the Android (News - Alert) version of Chrome with several new features. Now at version 25.0.1364.123, the latest update concentrates mostly on improving the performance, with some useful new additions.

There appears to be a few notable changes in the newest version of Chrome 25, but the one people might notice the most is the ability to play audio in the background – a longtime downside of mobile Chrome.

Background pages were essentially on pause to save resources in the past. However, now you can stream music all day long while you do “other stuff” on your Chrome for Android devices. This update should be good for those who find themselves bored and in need of doing something else while listening to audio.

According to the Google (News - Alert) Chrome team, these are some of the major updates to Chrome 25.0.1364.123:

• Improved scrolling performance
• Increased responsiveness to pinch-zooming on pages
• Faster interactive pages thanks to the latest version of the V8 javascript engine
• Audio now playing with Chrome in the background
• Expanded support for HTML5 features
• Support for pausing audio in Chrome when phone is in use (this requires an additional permission)

Google also noted that in this latest release of Chrome 25 for Android, there were other important stability and performance fixes, as well as some minor user interface adjustments. If you have an issue and want to know its status with the Google team, check it out here.

To update your current version of Chrome for Android, visit the Google Play Store and download it, which Google is also reportedly testing for use with some new apps still in beta.

If you’re interested in looking to do a bit of playing and testing, you can look for the Chrome Beta app, whose ultimate release will give you a look at the latest features before they become available in the stable build.

For more information, go to the Google Beta site.