ChromeOS

While we’re all still waiting for formal reviews of Valve’s Steam Deck, many of the early impressions seem overwhelmingly positive. For Chrome OS fans, though, there is a direct line to be drawn between the success of the Steam Deck and the future potential of gaming on Chromebooks.

Having been confirmed by a Googler over two years ago, Chrome OS is now closer than ever to officially supporting gaming through Steam. NewGeekGuide has uncovered the first Chromebooks that should support playing Steam games.

Google announced Chrome OS Flex yesterday as a way to turn old Macs and Windows PCs into Chromebooks. It amusingly also breathes new life into older Chromebooks that have hit their Auto Update Expiration (AUE) or end-of-life (EOL) date. 

In December of 2020, Google acquired a Chromium-based operating system that turns old PCs into Chromebook-like devices. CloudReady is now becoming “Chrome OS Flex” and is launching in early access today.

Google has been preparing a way to stream apps and notifications from your Pixel phone to your Chromebook or PC, and NewGeekGuide has enabled this feature to provide an exclusive first look at it.

Chrome OS is about to become even more powerful, with Google’s “Bruschetta” project adding support for using the Linux distro of your choice.

Google’s AirDrop competitor, Nearby Share, is working on a way to share Wi-Fi passwords from Android 12 to Chromebooks.

It will soon be possible to hibernate your Chromebook instead of simply putting it to sleep, allowing it to conserve even more battery while not in use.

The next class of Chrome OS devices may be targeted at the gaming market – more than one Chromebook is set to release with a full RGB keyboard.

Chrome OS is set to gain an Adaptive Charging feature, similar to Pixel phones, that will extend your Chromebook’s longterm battery life.

For those who have or use more than one Chromebook, Google is working to make it easier to move between Chrome OS devices with a new “floating workspace” feature that syncs windows and tabs.

Google has rebuilt Chrome OS’s built-in Calculator app, making it available for all devices, not just Chromebooks.

With Android 12, Google introduced Material You, a colorful third-generation of Material Design which will eventually expand beyond Android. To that end, Google has begun experimenting with bringing Material You design cues to Chrome OS.

At the end of 2020, Google acquired a company that offers software to convert old PCs into Chrome OS-like devices. In one high-profile example, a Norwegian hotel chain turned to CloudReady to convert several thousand ransomware-locked Windows laptops into Chromebooks.

Google previewed a slew of new features coming to Chromebooks this year. Until then, Chrome OS 97 is rolling out today with a brand-new audio player as part of a broader tweak to the Gallery app.

At CES 2022, Google is making a handful of audio-related announcements across Chromecast and Bluetooth headphones, including auto-switching on Android and Chromebooks.

This year, Google wants to improve the cross-device experience across Android and Chrome. At CES 2022, Google previewed a slew of upcoming integrations for Chrome OS.

Following a big 2021 for Wear OS, Google is continuing the momentum with the upcoming ability for watches to unlock Chrome OS and Android devices. On a similar front, Google is expanding what digital car keys can do this year.

Chromebooks often miss out on the bleeding edge of laptop tech, but that’s slowly starting to change. A few years after Apple popularized the idea, HP is bringing a haptic trackpad to Chromebooks with its new Elite Dragonfly Chromebook.

At CES 2022, Acer is showing off a trio of affordable Chromebooks that will be released in the coming months, including the MediaTek-powered Acer Chromebook Spin 513.

As seen with 12L, Google is making a big push to improve the experience of using Android and its apps on large screens. In its developer recap, Google shared today that usage of Android apps on Chrome OS increased 50% year-over-year.