ChromeOS

Video conferencing app Zoom exploded in popularity during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and remains quite popular to this day. To better serve its Chrome OS users, Zoom announced earlier this year that it would launch a new Progressive Web App(PWA) that has since launched in beta with some new features. In recent weeks, Zoom has discontinued the functionality of its original Chrome OS extension, leaving users only with the PWA, which is experiencing multiple issues.

This post has been updated after publication for clarify and to reflect information from Zoom.

As Chromebooks continue to move into the workspace, the need for privacy will steadily increase. The next big privacy advancement for Chromebooks will let you know when someone is snooping or looking over your shoulder.

Ahead of Chrome OS getting major updates every four weeks at the end of this month, Google today detailed the new six-month “long-term support” (LTS) channel for education and enterprise customers.

Google is working on improvements to Chrome OS’s virtual keyboard, including a new dark theme, Unicode 14 emoji, and the ability to type while using Linux apps.

Microsoft’s latest endeavor to replicate the success of Chrome OS is an operating system especially designed for K-8 classrooms. Windows 11 SE is cloud-first and meant to be simple for students, teachers, and school alike, while Microsoft is also releasing the Surface Laptop SE, which starts at $249.

Google started pushing Chrome OS tablets a few years ago, but with the Pixel Slate being a rather spectacular failure, the task of bringing that idea to life fell to the company’s partners. Lenovo was the first to strike excellence with its IdeaPad Duet in 2020, and now HP has brought the vision a step closer. I’ve spent a few weeks with the HP Chromebook X2, and I think it’s a bit closer to the “ideal” Chrome OS tablet.

Google has made Android 12L available for developers — and everyone else — to test out and see how well their apps can run on a large device, but not how you might expect. Here’s how to try a version of Android 12L on your own Chromebook.

While Android has its fair share of solid video editing apps, Chrome OS has to make do with some fairly basic and substandard options. That is set to change as the team behind the excellent iOS and iPad-only LumaFusion has confirmed that development has started on dedicated Android and ChromeOS versions of the app.

Google is today rolling out Chrome OS 94 as the last six-week update for the platform. There are a handful of user-facing additions in this update that will be fully available over the coming weeks.

Chrome Apps preceded Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) as Google’s original vision for mimicking the capabilities of native applications through browsers. The legacy technology is on its way out, but Google has decided to extend the availability of Chrome Apps on Chrome OS. 

Last March, Google announced a “Works With Chromebook” program to certify and badge accessories for Chrome OS. The latest peripheral to come out of this certification is docking stations. 

For the past few years, Google has been working on a “Better Together” initiative to make the experience of owning an Android phone and Chromebook more seamless. Integrations today include a prominent Phone Hub, Instant Tethering, and Smart (Un)Lock. As we reported in February, the latest feature in this family is codenamed “Eche,” and we now know a lot more about the Android side of things. Google Pixel phones look to be the first devices that can “Push” and mirror apps to Chromebooks.

After launching one of the first mainstream Chrome OS tablets in 2020, Lenovo is building on that success with its new Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5, a premium tablet with a bigger OLED display and other upgrades.

Google is working with Antmicro on a “Human Presence Sensor” for upcoming Chromebooks, which could be used for face unlock or other long-awaited Chrome OS features.

Google is debuting “Cursive” on the HP Chromebook x2 11 that gives Chrome OS a dedicated app for handwritten notes. It lets users — of stylus devices — create, edit, and organize their thoughts. 

Besides the Chromebook x2 11 convertible, HP today announced a surprising Chromebase All-In-One (AiO) Desktop that’s pitched as a family computer with a rather unique physical design and display.

The HP Chromebook x2 11 is shaping up to be the next flagship Chrome OS device. Unveiled today alongside the HP Chromebook AiO, it’s officially a “detachable” (aka convertible) that’s in the mold of the Lenovo Duet and Asus CM3, but everything about it is significantly more premium.

Chrome OS is preparing to offer access to the calendar from the quick settings area, complete with your Google Calendar events.