Chromebook: a connection with your Android and 8 other new features for the 10th anniversary of the OS

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Google announces a series of new features for Chrome OS. Chromebook users are going to have life a little easier.

In 2020, Chromebooks outsold Macs. The pandemic has galvanized the PC market and Google seems to have managed to hold its own with 14.4% market share in the last quarter of 2020 (source: IDC). This increased public interest in ChromeOS and Chromebooks in 2020, however, is only the continuation of a pre-pandemic trend that the health crisis has reinforced. In any case, this is a great performance for an OS which is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

Several new features for Chrome OS

For the occasion, Google announces several new features for its OS. Chrome OS is now the second OS for PC in the world and above all, Google specifies that it is the only one that has been designed as a modern OS for the Web. In 10 years, the interface does not seem to have evolved much, it is still so simple and efficient, nevertheless the screens have become touch-sensitive, USB-C has become a standard (2015), Android applications have arrived with the Play Store (2016), there is now a security chip on all Chromebooks marketed (Titan C since 2017).

On-the-go: making it easier to use on the go

To begin with, Google is announcing three big new features to simplify use when you are on the move.

The first is called Phone Hub. This function is available at the bottom right of the Chrome OS interface, it displays information on the autonomy of your smartphone, the quality of the cellular connection, some quick settings actions (Hotspot, silent mode, location mode) but also the last opened Chrome tabs on the phone. If you have misplaced your phone, you can locate it easily by clicking on the icon. Same thing for your notifications, like signal or WhatsApp, you will have access to quick response options. This is just the beginning, as Google wants to improve the connection between Android smartphones and Chromebooks.

PhoneHub

Note, however, that Samsung goes further. If you have a Samsung smartphone and a Windows 10 PC, you can even view Android apps on your PC.

The second feature is called: Nearby Share. It is the equivalent of AirDrop in the Apple universe. You can now easily share a file between an Android smartphone and a Chromebook. The transfer is fast and is done directly between the two machines, no need to go through the cloud.

Nearby Share

Same thing for sharing Wi-Fi, with the new Wi-Fi Sync function access to Wi-Fi networks are shared between all devices, no need to enter them on your Chromebook if you are already connected to it with your smartphone.

Make ChromeOS faster everyday

The rest of the new features are features to make Chrome OS easier to use on a daily basis. They will certainly make sense to you because they are already found on macOS, Windows 10 or even some GNU/Linux distributions. This is the case of Screen Capture which allows you to quickly take video captures of the interface and share them, access is from the quick settings on the right side.

Tote is a space where you can access files quickly, files are pinned so pinned and easy to access. Clipboard resumes the history of copied elements. Your Chromebook saves the last five copied items so you can easily copy/paste any or all of them onto a new page without having to switch between windows.

Quick Answers automatically provide you with useful information such as a definition or translation, or perform unit conversion for you when you right-click on a word.

The virtual offices, already present since the year, have been reviewed. All previously open windows on your desktops are automatically restored to interrupt your work as little as possible. Plus, just right-click at the top of a window to send it directly to any or all of your desktops, and swipe four fingers across your trackpad to switch from one office to another.

Select-to-speak

There's also a new text-to-speech screen reader that offers new controls for speeding up, slowing down and pausing reading aloud in real time, and easily switching between sections of text. to another. These commands will be particularly useful for people with visual impairments or learning disabilities. Just select a text to launch it.

You will also notice: the icons of the apps integrated into the Chromebook have been redesigned. Google also announces a simplified configuration for schools and parents: you can easily create accounts for children with supervision tools. You'll need to set up a new Chromebook using a child's Google Account (managed with Family Link).

Google Family Link for Parents

Download Google Family Link for parents for free

APK

Most of these new features will be deployed in the coming days via M89 update, Google did not specify the exact date. There may also be a few new features coming later in the year.

More than 50 Chrome OS products in 2021

This year, Google plans to launch more than 50 Chromebooks with very different forms: detachable, convertible, boxes too, that's more than one launch per week.

Among the most popular Chromebooks, we find the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 (the Spin 514 has been announced) in Europe, the Asus Chromebook CX9 as well as the Dell Latitude 7410. More locally, the HP Pro c645 or the Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga. In the UK, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 works very well.

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