ChromeOS 126 rolling out: Multi-calendar support, Quick Start Android set-up, more

After the big Chromebook update last month, ChromeOS 126 is rolling out as a moderate update over the coming weeks. 

After adding Google Tasks support, the Quick Settings Calendar now lets you “view all events from multiple calendars” instead of being limited to your main one. For example, you previously could not see the secondary birthday or holiday calendars. 

Setting up a Chromebook with your Android phone is now easier with “Quick Start.” It will “automatically transfer your Wi-Fi and Google Account login information without needing to manually enter your passwords.” A secure connection between your ChromeOS devices and phone is established. This was first announced at CES 2022.

The ChromeOS Camera app now offers digital zoom, with high-performance Chromebooks getting AI-powered Super Resolution. 

Under Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and text input > Text cursor blink rate, you can now disable the blinking text cursor. This is for users with “with photosensitive seizure triggers and cognitive differences.”

You can also now turn off going back/forward through browsing history by swiping left/right on your trackpad with two fingers. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Cursor and touchpad > Use a swipe gesture to navigate between pages.

ChromeOS 126 also introduces:

• “Magnifier following Select to Speak is a feature designed for people who have low vision, but may be beneficial for anyone who enjoys reading text at larger sizes. When you read text aloud using Select to Speak, the screen magnifier will automatically follow the words, so you never lose your place. To try this out you can enable both Magnifier and Select to Speak in your settings. Zoom in to your preferred zoom level using Ctrl + Alt + Brightness up and Ctrl + Alt + Brightness down. Select the text you want to read out and press the Select to Speak play button, or Search + S. A setting is available under the Magnifier settings to adjust this behavior.
• “For supervised accounts managed via Family Link, we are separating the parental control for Permissions for sites, extensions, and apps to give parents more granular control. Parents now have two options to choose from: Permissions for apps and Extensions. The impact on supervised accounts is that a parent can now allow extensions installations with or without approval. Previously, parents could block extensions but had no way to allow them without approval.