ChromeOS

Neverware lets you turn old PCs and Macs into Chromebook-esque devices through its CloudReady OS. While primarily aimed at schools and enterprises, a free “Home” edition for everyone is available. Google has now acquired Neverware and CloudReady with plans to integrate it with Chrome OS.

This year has marked a fantastic step forward for Chromebooks of all budgets, and just in time for the holiday season, we’ve rounded up the best Chromebooks that you can buy for yourself or give to others.

Following a big desktop update two weeks week, Chrome OS 87 started rolling out on Thursday after a brief delay. There are a handful of usability enhancements in this release, which will be available in the coming days.

This week, those enrolled in the Google Play Services beta received an update to version 20.45, which includes work to sync Wi-Fi passwords between your Android phone to your Chromebook.

Chrome OS’s “Connectivity Diagnostics” app, used to help figure out why your Chromebook’s internet connection may be acting up, is poised to get a revamp.

With the rise of Android and Linux app support on Chrome OS, the possibilities for a high-end Chromebook have never been greater. Combined with the new tablet form factor, Chrome OS is becoming quite the all-in-one operating system. Let’s take a look at the best Chromebooks on the market today, as of November 2020.

Chromebooks have a slightly different keyboard layout compared to most laptops, in part because there’s no CAPS LOCK key on the left side. Now, that button has a name. Every Chromebook now has an “Everything” button.

Last month, we showed you a first glimpse of what Chrome OS will look like when it gains a light mode in the near future. Work has since continued on light theme for Chrome OS, and at the same time the default dark theme has begun to get darker.

For a few months now, we’ve been keeping an eye on a new feature for Chrome OS called “Phone Hub” which will deeply connect your Chromebook to your Android phone. Now we’re beginning to see the feature come to fruition on the Android side by way of an update to Google Play Services.

The vast majority of Chrome OS devices today are powered by Intel chipsets today. Acer is breaking that mold today with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c-powered Chromebook Spin 513. 

Back in June, Google announced that Windows apps are coming to Chrome OS through a third-party partnership — instead of an in-house solution. Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise is launching today to provide access to Windows apps that some businesses still need.

Chrome OS is set to gain a new “Trash” folder that will make it easy to undelete a file you may have accidentally deleted.

Despite all the reasons we love Chrome OS, the one major downside is that Chromebooks come with an expiration date, after which they’ll no longer receive updates. Google is now giving some Chromebooks just shy of nine years of guaranteed support.

After coming to Mac, Windows, Linux, and Android last Tuesday, Chrome OS 86 will be rolling out over the coming weeks. There are a number of usability improvements in this release with a focus on making Chromebooks “more accessible for people with disabilities.”

The first thing you probably think of with Google’s Chrome OS platform is a cheap laptop. That’s understandable — the platform has built its popularity on super-affordable laptops that don’t suck. However, there’s a whole other side to the Chrome OS coin. Premium Chromebooks offer the simplicity of Google’s platform with killer performance and premium features. Lately, I’ve been testing out two premium Chromebooks from HP — the HP x360 14c and the HP C640 Pro. Here’s why they’re some of the best “high-end” Chromebooks you can buy, and possibly better than Google’s Pixelbook Go.

Over the last few years, one of the more major enhancements to operating systems like iOS and Android is the addition of a dark mode. Chrome OS is going in the opposite direction by bringing a dedicated light theme, which we managed to get our hands on early.

The Chromebook market has grown considerably over the past few years, but it’s mostly been dominated by Intel and MediaTek. In 2019, AMD stepped into the market with some entry-level chips, but this year, AMD is bringing both Ryzen and Athlon chips to Chromebooks.

AMD this morning announced that it’s bringing Athlon and Ryzen chips to Chrome OS. HP is the first to unveil its AMD-powered Pro c645 Chromebook Enterprise, while also detailing the latest Intel Chromebox G3.

Google is working on a new “Holding Space” for Chrome OS that will give you quick access to your most recent and most commonly used files and screenshots.