2-in-1 Chromebooks will start using the power button correctly in a future Chrome OS version

2-in-1 Chromebooks like the Samsung Chromebook Plus and ASUS C302A are just begging to be used with Android apps as tablets, however, there are some key differences between these and your traditional tablet ─ aside from Chrome OS that is. One of those is how the power button acts when the device is in tablet mode, but that’s soon changing…

Currently, Chromebooks that have 360-degree hinges only change how they work in terms of disabling the keyboard and adding free rotation of the UI. Everything else works exactly the same as it does in laptop mode. That includes the power button, which in laptop mode acts first as a button to lock the device with the screen on, then turn off the machine with a longer press.

Android tablets, on the other hand, immediately lock and turn off the display when the power button is pressed, activating sleep mode. It’s a little thing, but having this on a convertible Chromebook would certainly make things feels a bit more familiar, and that’s exactly what Google is working on.

As pointed out by ChromeUnboxed, the beta channel of Chrome OS currently supports using the power button as a sleep button on the Samsung Chromebook Plus. One click turns off the display and puts the machine in sleep mode while a second click brings it back to life at the lockscreen. This is certainly a welcome change for these machines, and is only going to be more vital as new hardware debuts, especially the Chrome OS tablets and detachables that are coming soon…