Chrome OS

The majority of today's consumer tech products are unsurprisingly designed for the majority of people that don't have physical or mental handicaps. That's not to say, however, that these are the only people who deserve to have all that power at their fingertips. In fact, they should even be the ones whose lives are made even better by modern devices and software, correcting and augmenting what would normally be huge obstacles to leading functional and productive lives. Chromebooks are often portrayed as devices designed specifically for those purposes, and Google is presenting some features that make its Chrome OS platform more accessible to people with disabilities.

Continue Reading

There have been a couple of new PCs announced in the past few days, and, given Microsoft's latest launches, it's no surprise that they all revolve around Windows 11. Acer does have new Windows 11 PCs to show off, but it is casting its net a bit wider. It has even more new Chromebooks joining its growing army of devices running Google's web-centric OS, and this year's lineup aims for almost every user need and design inclination.

Continue Reading

Google never had a great relationship with tablets. It wasn't until the disaster that was Android 3.0 Honeycomb did the mobile platform acknowledged the tablets that had long existed before it, and even then, it took a few iterations for Android to stop feeling awkward on large screens. Google itself would only make two and a half tablets under the Nexus brand, a forgettable Pixel C, and the only Pixel Slate in existence that ran Chrome OS instead. There is now some speculation that Google might be ready to take another whack at it, but a Google Android tablet might actually make little sense for the company because it doesn't mesh well with its ultimate goal.

Continue Reading

Google has long had two major platforms (three if you count The Web, more if you also count Fuchsia and other custom operating systems), but Android and Chrome OS haven't exactly crossed paths until recently. Fortunately, Google has been working on bridging the two, more than just running Android apps on Chromebooks. An upcoming feature might be Google's biggest push in that direction, figuratively and literally, with a "Push" function that will let Android phones, particularly Google's Pixel phones, stream their screens to Chromebooks.

Continue Reading

It's time for Lenovo's annual Tech World event, and, of course, it has plenty of new products to show off. Those range from its Yoga line of Windows-powered laptops to a variety of Android tablets. One new device that stands out is the new Lenovo IdeaPad Duet 5 Chromebook, a.k.a. the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 in other markets. More than just the only Chrome OS device on the new list, it also gives Lenovo's popular 2-in-1 tablet a spec upgrade and, for better or worse, a matching price bump.

Continue Reading

The amount of digital content we create these days also means there's an equally large or even larger amount of content we acquire day in and day out. Once upon a time, that would have resulted in a desktop or workspace cluttered with icons, but these days that translates to innumerable files, downloads, screenshots, and everything else. Although not exactly an organizational tool, Chrome OS' Tote feature lets you quickly access the most important or at least most recent items on your Chromebook, conveniently ignoring the growing clutter in other parts of the system.

Continue Reading

Google has forayed into a range of industries previously and it’s now planning to manufacture its own silicon for the forthcoming Chrome OS-powered notebooks. Google’s growing focus on developing in-house chipsets isn’t new, this year however, it’s only become more evident than ever before. Especially after an official teaser of Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro, which will be powered by a custom system on a chip (SoC) that is named the “Google Tensor”.

Continue Reading

Chrome OS has become a sort of "one OS to rule them all" in the past years. In addition to the usual native Chrome OS apps and web apps, it has also gained support for Linux and Android apps. With no small amount of work, it can even run Windows software to some extent. That, however, doesn't mean that the experience of apps from those other platforms is on par with full-blooded Chrome OS apps, and Microsoft seems to be using that to justify ending official support for the Android versions of its Microsoft Office and Outlook apps on Chrome OS starting September.

Continue Reading

Users of Chrome that regularly open multiple windows at once, rejoice! The latest version of Chrome shows a new Save Group toggle when creating a group of tabs. This should allow the user to keep track of the multiple tabs they need open at once, even after Chrome is closed down for the day. That's assuming you or I ever close Chrome and/or shut one's computer off entirely which... is the healthy thing to do.

Continue Reading

HP today announced a new smattering of Chromebook and Chromebook-adjacent devices. Leading the day's reveals is the HP Chromebook x2 11, but it's joined by the HP Chomebase 21.5-inch All-in-One Desktop and the new HP M24fd USB-C monitor. While that monitor might seem like the odd device out, it actually comes with Works With Chromebook certification, so it fits the theme of today's reveals quite nicely.

Continue Reading

Google has detailed the latest Chrome OS update, adding a few big changes, including eSIM support and improved video calls. The update addresses some of the biggest ways consumers utilize Chromebooks -- as productivity machines for messaging, calls, and getting work done while away from the office or in case. Joining these big features is an emoji picker, as well.

Continue Reading

The Google two-factor authentication (2FA) security system was updated with a new security key. This system is also called 2SV, or 2-Step Verification. Before now, users were given the option to use a physical security key (USB), or via a Google Prompt notification (via the Google or Gmail app)*. Now Google also allows users to use a smartphone with Android running the Chrome web browser app.

Continue Reading