There was a little bit of truth when people – especially in the early days of mobile – said that the iPhone was the best place to use Google apps. That’s definitely not the case today on Android phones, but I think a part of that argument rings true when comparing Google web services running on Chrome for Mac/Windows versus ChromeOS. Fortunately, that’s starting to change on Chromebooks as seen with one-click Google Calendar integration.
ChromeOS 104 started rolling out last week with a number of big UI changes, including a compact app launcher and proper dark theme. However, the most monumental addition is how the month/day now appears in the bottom-right corner of every screen.
You previously had to click the time before being able to see a miniature date readout. Now, users always see it, and tapping opens a month view that syncs with Google Calendar. You can scroll through, and tapping a day shows all events. Another click opens the calendar.google.com PWA for full details.
Having quick access to a monthly calendar for simple recall is already remarkably convenient, and the fact it syncs with Google’s service just exponentially increases the utility. On ChromeOS, you could always visit the website or install the large screen-friendly Android app, but other desktop operating systems have long provided fast access to a calendar view. It simply took too long for Chromebooks to add this feature.
Before the feature was added, the absence reflected how services like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Photos worked the exact same way across Chrome for Mac, Windows, Linux, and ChromeOS. For years (after the novelty of offline Drive and Docs access also came to the Chrome browser), Google’s operating system did not provide a meaningfully better experience for first-party apps.
Another example of a shift is how the wallpaper picker in ChromeOS 104 now integrates with Google Photos for quick library browsing and personal auto-rotating backgrounds. It’s shocking this took so long to implement, in hindsight, with Google Photos on Chromebooks also set to get a richer video editor this fall.
At the start of this year, the Android and ChromeOS teams previewed the latest “Better Together” features to have your Chromebook and Android phone better integrate. Features like Quick Setup via Android, the ability to reply to chat apps from your phone, Fast Pair, and Wear OS unlock are coming.
They should be quite convenient, but Google would do well to also build out integrations between ChromeOS and its most popular first-party services. Google Meet is a prime candidate given how much we’re video calling these days, while accessing Google Keep for taking text notes could be more seamless.
When Chromebooks turned 10 last year, Google talked about offering more “intelligent experiences” that “[utilize its] artificial intelligence technology to help people proactively,” in addition to the aforementioned cross-device integrations. For my money, I’d get more use out of UX improvements and streamlined access to the apps I use daily.
It might be tempting (and easier) for Google to think of Chromebooks as nothing more than thin clients to the web, but we’re living in an era where competitors are doubling down on integrations that highlight the value of staying in-platform. ChromeOS needs to gain that seamlessness and better work with the Google ecosystem.
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