ChromeOS

Chrome OS will soon have a way to set your wallpaper to one of your favorite images or albums from Google Photos.

Update: This feature is now available in the latest Chrome OS Canary builds, allowing us to see Google Photos integration in action.

With Google now releasing major Chromebook updates every four weeks, some releases are more significant than others. Chrome OS 99 adds a slew of convenient features that will start rolling out today. 

Google will soon offer Chrome OS device owners a bit more control over their devices, by letting you turn off automatic updates.

As part of MWC, Lenovo is announcing a few new Chrome OS devices, including the well-rounded IdeaPad Flex 5i and more affordable Flex 3i Chromebooks.

Chromebook tablets have been growing in popularity over the past couple of years, and Lenovo especially has been doubling down on the form factor. After launching the Chromebook Duet 5 last year, Lenovo is today announcing the smaller, but equally specced, IdeaPad Duet 3.

While we’re all still waiting for formal reviews of Valve’s Steam Deck, many of the early impressions seem overwhelmingly positive. For Chrome OS fans, though, there is a direct line to be drawn between the success of the Steam Deck and the future potential of gaming on Chromebooks.

Having been confirmed by a Googler over two years ago, Chrome OS is now closer than ever to officially supporting gaming through Steam. 9to5Google has uncovered the first Chromebooks that should support playing Steam games.

Google announced Chrome OS Flex yesterday as a way to turn old Macs and Windows PCs into Chromebooks. It amusingly also breathes new life into older Chromebooks that have hit their Auto Update Expiration (AUE) or end-of-life (EOL) date. 

In December of 2020, Google acquired a Chromium-based operating system that turns old PCs into Chromebook-like devices. CloudReady is now becoming “Chrome OS Flex” and is launching in early access today.

Google has been preparing a way to stream apps and notifications from your Pixel phone to your Chromebook or PC, and 9to5Google has enabled this feature to provide an exclusive first look at it.

Chrome OS is about to become even more powerful, with Google’s “Bruschetta” project adding support for using the Linux distro of your choice.

Google’s AirDrop competitor, Nearby Share, is working on a way to share Wi-Fi passwords from Android 12 to Chromebooks.

It will soon be possible to hibernate your Chromebook instead of simply putting it to sleep, allowing it to conserve even more battery while not in use.

The next class of Chrome OS devices may be targeted at the gaming market – more than one Chromebook is set to release with a full RGB keyboard.

Chrome OS is set to gain an Adaptive Charging feature, similar to Pixel phones, that will extend your Chromebook’s longterm battery life.

For those who have or use more than one Chromebook, Google is working to make it easier to move between Chrome OS devices with a new “floating workspace” feature that syncs windows and tabs.

Google has rebuilt Chrome OS’s built-in Calculator app, making it available for all devices, not just Chromebooks.

With Android 12, Google introduced Material You, a colorful third-generation of Material Design which will eventually expand beyond Android. To that end, Google has begun experimenting with bringing Material You design cues to Chrome OS.

At the end of 2020, Google acquired a company that offers software to convert old PCs into Chrome OS-like devices. In one high-profile example, a Norwegian hotel chain turned to CloudReady to convert several thousand ransomware-locked Windows laptops into Chromebooks.

Google previewed a slew of new features coming to Chromebooks this year. Until then, Chrome OS 97 is rolling out today with a brand-new audio player as part of a broader tweak to the Gallery app.

At CES 2022, Google is making a handful of audio-related announcements across Chromecast and Bluetooth headphones, including auto-switching on Android and Chromebooks.