There are 2 ways depending on what you prefer:

1. Get chrome (with the version you want) as an apk (i haven't found an official source, so this method seem to be not recommended if there's no official one) via profile or enterprise app policy to the device. 
With this method you would have full control of which verison is used but as just said: Please use official apk files only!

2. Use managed Google play to update it by adding this to an app policy containing chrome and assigning it to the relevant devices. This has a bit risk because if a new chrome version will cause issues your devices run all into that issue.

Hi Daniel,

Adding to Rafael's response.

Your best option is to utilize Managed Google Play from an App Policy to update Chrome on your devices.

You can also use the "Manage Google Play" profile configuration to effectively pause any new PlayStore updates too if that is something you need based on your organization's needs. For example, if you need to test new versions of apps before rolling them out to the rest of production. Then you could use that as a part of the process.

Also, be mindful that app versions sometimes vary based on the device. This would likely be based on the minimal SDK available on the device (correlates with OS versions/updates).

Then regarding obtaining APK's outside the Play Store. We generally don't recommend this for a multitude of reasons. The only time it is viable is if you have direct communication with the App Developer, who can provide you with the APKs. This is usually done for custom business-specific apps.

Regards,

Technical Support | SOTI Inc. |1.905.624.9828 | support@soti.net | www.soti.net |

To be completely honest, I don't think there is a straightforward answer to this question. Google Chrome, as a system app in GMS Android, is updated automatically by Google Play. I don't even think you need to approve it via an App Catalog rule for it to be updated. Google Play will recognize it as an outdated system app on your device and will attempt to upgrade it whether you approve that or not as an EMM admin.

I am assuming these are fully managed devices since you're on the SOTI forum. If they are fully managed, then it is problematic that there are apps that Google Play will try to update on it's own without the direct approval of the Device Owner EMM admin. I at least perceive that to be an alarming reality. But you came here looking to see how to get Google Chrome to automatically update.

The good news, at least I guess for your case, is that Google Chrome should be upgrading automatically on it's own. That's where the second problem comes in. It should be upgrading on its own, but there are many criteria that must be met in order for that to occur. An app upgrading from the Play Store has to be idle, not in the foreground, the device has to generally be idle as well, and in a charging state. That, combined with also being at the mercy of the timing of the Google Play servers themselves mean the stars basically have to align for your devices to update automatically. This is incredibly challenging in line of business device environments where devices may rarely be idle, or may never be in a charging state if swappable batteries are in use. The end result is a sort of rolling update that will occur with your devices. You will get automatic updates, in the sense that you don't have to do anything to trigger them, but they will be rolling to your devices organically over time so you will likely end up with a wide range of versions across your devices. As much as Google wants to fight back on fragmentation they've created strange scenarios like this where instead of proper version control we end up with a rolling series of versions across an estate of devices with no clear roll back capabilities or options for selecting a set version to standardize on. 

I genuinely hope Google introduces robust version management to Managed Play in the future. This would empower EMM admins to pick from various app versions and decide the timing of rollouts for their managed devices. Though there have been gradual improvements with features like High Priority Mode and Minimum Version requirements, Managed Play still falls short in terms of genuine version control.