The latest Chrome Beta release brings mobile functions to the desktop via push notifications.

With Chrome version 42, developers can take advantage of the Push API and Notification API in order to send pop-up alerts to users on the desktop even if their app is closed.

“Push notifications allow your users to opt-in to timely updates from sites they love and allow you to effectively re-engage them with customized, engaging content,” said(Opens in a new window) Google’s Matt Gaunt.

Like on mobile, users will have to grant permission for an app to send them a push notification on the desktop. Each notification will have a “Site Settings” button that will let them turn off the alerts.

Chrome Beta 42 also lets Android mobile users add a website to their home screen with just one tap. Those who frequent a high-quality Web app will see a banner with the choice to “add to home screen.”

Sites that want to take advantage of the new feature must meet Google’s eligibility criteria “that ensure that users have a good experience when launching sites from the home screen, even when offline,” Google said in a blog post(Opens in a new window).

Those rules will evolve over time, the company said, based on user and developer feedback.

Other new releases include a setting that automatically pauses plug-in content(Opens in a new window) to save battery power.

Chrome Beta 42 is available for download(Opens in a new window) for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, and Linux now, though beta releases are only recommended for the most tech-savvy Web surfers. The rest of us should wait for the stable version of Chrome.

Google, meanwhile, this week launched the new Art Project Chrome add-on, intended to “breathe a little culture into your day. The extension brings masterpieces from Van Gogh, Degas, Monet, and other iconic artists to your browser, whenever you open a new tab in Chrome.

For more, check out PCMag’s roundup of Chrome tips in the slideshow above.