ChromeOS
Latest
HP's Chromebook x2 is a detachable tablet too
HP is joining Acer in making Chrome OS devices that can do away with the keyboard. It just unveiled the Chromebook x2, a 12.3-inch laptop that's really a detachable tablet -- unlike the earlier Chromebook x360, you can leave the keyboard behind instead of merely flipping it behind the screen (though you can do that too). There's an included pen for note-taking and sketching, and you'll find a 13-megapixel rear camera on top of a more conventional 5-megapixel front shooter.
What educators think about Apple’s new iPad
Yesterday's Apple event showed that the company wants to make a serious push back into the education sector. This isn't anything new, though, according to CEO Tim Cook; it's just the company going back to its roots. The centerpiece here is a "new" iPad, a 9.7-inch tablet with Apple Pencil support that aims to woo teachers everywhere. There's also a redesigned iWork suite that lets students doodle and create digital books within Pages; the Schoolwork app, for tracking, well, schoolwork; and a kid-friendly tool for coding AR. Apple is hoping that will be enough to win over schools.
The new iPad vs. the competition: Teaching tools
Thanks to its generous discount program Apple was the king of the education market for decades. Some schools even straight up gave their students iPads. However, many institutions are increasingly adopting Chromebooks as their system of choice, which offer up kid-friendly features at a much lower price. Last year gave us the first budget iPad, and today Apple gave it a slight update and unveiled a host of education-focused features. But even Pencil support and a ton more iCloud storage might not win over educators in right away, especially with products like Acer's Chromebook Tab 10 on the horizon. So we've stacked up the new iPad versus the Tab 10 as well another budget tablet, the Fire HD 10, to see which might be worthy of stowing in your kid's backpack this year.
The first Chrome OS tablet comes from Acer
There have been many Chrome OS devices with touchscreens, but there haven't been pure tablets. You've always had an attached keyboard as a fallback -- until today, that is. Acer has unveiled the first Chrome OS tablet, the Chromebook Tab 10, and there's nary a keyboard to be found. The 9.7-inch slate is aimed at squarely at education, where the all-touch input and light weight (1.21 pounds) could make it a better fit for younger students. Appropriately, there's a bundled battery-free Wacom stylus that lets kids draw and take notes.
Chrome's pull-to-refresh starts making its way to Chromebooks
Chrome on Chromebooks and Windows-2-in-1 devices is on its way to becoming more like its sibling on mobile. As lucasban has posted on Reddit, the pull-to-refresh gesture is now available on the browser's developer channel for those platforms. While the feature might not make that much of a difference as it does on mobile -- Chrome for those devices has a pretty accessible refresh button -- the iOS/Android version's touch control will still make a great addition for the touchscreen laptop-tablet hybrids.
Google is testing a splitscreen view for Android apps on Chromebooks
The latest update to Chrome OS' Canary test channel should make multitasking on a Chromebook easier. Now, in addition to split-screening two native Chrome OS apps on your machine, you can run a Chrome OS app and an Android app side-by-side or two Android apps. It should be mentioned that Canary is pre-alpha software and isn't exactly stable, as 9to5 Google notes, so maybe don't try this out on your daily driver. This could be a sign that Chrome OS tablets and Chromebooks with detachable screens are en route. The video below from Chrome Unboxed, however, shows the feature running on a Samsung Chromebook Pro which suggests it'll work on existing convertibles too.
Code suggests Google Assistant will come to all Chromebooks
If you want Google Assistant on a Chromebook, you currently have exactly one option: Google's own $1,700 Pixelbook. It looks like Google's about to unleash its voice helper on any ChromeOS device, however, if code spotted by XDA Developers is implemented. In a recent ChromeOS built, there's a new feature that will let manufacturers enable Google Assistant (by default, it's off). According to another part of the code, OEMs will be able to decide whether it listens for a keywords or is activated simply by a button press.
Chrome OS update comes with Spectre fix and new screenshot shortcut
Chrome OS version 64 has made its way to stable channel, which means it's hitting your device very, very soon if it hasn't yet. It'll add a handful of new features and improvements, including a screenshot shortcut if you have a Chromebook with a 360-degree hinge like the Acer Spin. You only have to press the power and the volume down buttons at the same time, like what you'd do on an Android phone. It also adds a flag to make Split View easier to activate and gives Android apps the ability to run in the background. In addition, the update improves your lockscreen's performance, presumably making it faster, and finally enables the use of VPN for apps downloaded from Google Play.
Red Hat buys the creator of a Chrome-based OS for servers
The underpinnings of Chrome OS have found their way into the server room in a very roundabout way. Red Hat has acquired CoreOS, the creators of an operating system for containerized apps (Container Linux) that shares roots with both Google's Chromium OS project and Gentoo Linux. The $250 million deal promises to help Red Hat fulfill its dreams of helping people use open code to deploy apps in any environment they like, whether it's on a local network or multiple cloud services.
Acer Chrome OS tablet pops up at UK education event
Google's said before that Chrome OS would be used for tablets, but so far we've only seen whispers of such a device. Now, it seems that Twitter user Alister Payne (@Alister_Payne) got an early look at what appears to be an Acer tablet that operates on Chrome OS. The tweet and picture, taken at BETT 2018, has since been deleted, but Chrome Unboxed preserved it. The device appears to have a screen between 8 and 10 inches, but further details are unavailable.
Lenovo's tough, hybrid Chromebooks are built for education
Lenovo has launched a handful of new laptops designed for classrooms, including three new Chromebooks. The new devices were designed to be tough enough to survive students' rough handling and have rubber bumpers, reinforced hinges and mechanically anchored keyboards. Google has also subjected them to drop tests, and they include support for Google's Classroom and G Suite for Education. Lenovo 500e (pictured above) is a convertible Chromebook that comes with a pressure sensitive pen stored in a built-in compartment. It has a 5-megapixel world-facing camera, so kids can take pics of the board, their experiments and activities. The convertible is powered by an Intel Celeron processor, has an 8GB RAM, a 64GB storage and an 11.6-inch HD touchscreen display.
The ASUS Chromebox 3 is destined for businesses
The vast majority of machines running Google's Chrome OS are laptops, but that hasn't stopped some companies from trying to put the lightweight software into tiny desktop boxes. ASUS has been making a Chromebox since 2014, and they're announcing a new one at CES 2018. Unfortunately, details are rather limited: we know it'll run an "8th generation Intel Core processor" with an untold amount of DDR4-2400 RAM. There's no mention of storage space either. What we do know is that the Chromebox 3 will include USB 3.1 via a type-C port and Gigatbit Ethernet, a logical choice for something you won't be moving around as much as a laptop (don't worry, it still has WiFi, too).
Samsung preps Chrome OS tablet with a high-end camera
Samsung's Chromebooks haven't always been smashing successes, but it's clearly willing to shake up its formula when necessary. In a follow-up to hints from November, Chrome Unboxed has discovered code references confirming the existence of "Nautilus," a Samsung-made detachable Chrome OS tablet. And from initial appearances, it might not just be a Google-powered Galaxy Book. While Nautilus appears to use a 7th-generation Intel Core chip like its Windows counterpart, the code points to the presence of the Sony IMX258 camera used in the LG G6. Given that many Chromebooks have a 720p cam at best, this might be the first Chrome OS device with a camera you'd genuinely enjoy using.
Chrome OS will finally run Android apps in the background
While it's no longer a novelty to run Android apps on your Chromebook, that doesn't mean they run well. To date, most of those apps pause when you switch away -- fine for a phone, but not what you'd expect on a computer with a multi-window interface. However, they're about to become far more functional. Chrome Unboxed has learned that the Chrome OS 64 beta introduces Android Parallel Tasks, which lets Android apps run at full bore regardless of what you're doing. You could watch a video in a mobile app while you're surfing the web, or take a break from a mobile game without jarring transitions.
Google shuts down Chrome ‘apps’ section on Mac and Windows
Way back in August 2016, Google announced that it would be shuttering the apps section in the Chrome Web Store. As the company had stated in a blog post, this was one step in a process to shut down standalone Chrome Apps that nobody really downloaded from their browser anymore. Today Google followed through: Chrome browser users can no longer access or install apps from the Chrome Web Store.
Microsoft Office is now available for all Chromebooks
It took its sweet time, but Microsoft Office for Android is now available on all Play Store-compatible Chromebooks, according to Chrome Unboxed. The software's convoluted journey en route to Google's laptops is well documented. As a recap, when Android app support arrived on Chrome OS over a year ago, Microsoft's Office Suite apps were (naturally) among the first reviewers -- including Computerworld -- downloaded on compatible devices, such as the latest Pixelbook and the Asus Chromebook Flip C302CA. And, everybody just (incorrectly) assumed they'd also be available on other Play Store-supported Chromebooks too. Boy, was everyone wrong.
Chrome OS will let you reply to messages from notifications
You've had the option to reply to message notifications on Android for years, so why can't you do that on your shiny new Chromebook? You can soon. Google has started implementing support for in-line replies to messages from notifications. Much as on Android, you can respond to a message from a supporting app (Hangouts is one example) in the pop-up box rather than switching tasks entirely and losing your focus.
Google Pixelbook review: A premium Chromebook that's worth the price
When we reviewed Google's Chromebook Pixel in 2013, we said it was a gorgeous, well-built computer that almost no one should buy. That's also how we felt about the follow up in 2015. See, Chrome OS has been considered fine for a cheap second computer, but it was pretty much impossible to recommend anyone drop $999+ for the Pixel. Chrome OS was too limited, when a computer running Windows or macOS costs the same amount. Google's ambitious new Pixelbook suggests that won't be the case anymore. The laptop bears no resemblance to the original Pixel, but it's cut from similar cloth. It's still one of the nicest laptops you can find -- but it's also still running Chrome OS. But for a growing segment of the population, that might not be a problem. Google believes that as the many students who've used Chrome OS for years transition into adulthood, they'll be looking for high quality laptops that run the software they're familiar with. Moreover, Google says that premium laptops make up 20 percent of the market -- the Pixelbook is its latest attempt to get a piece of that pie.
Google hints Assistant is nearly ready for Chromebooks
Google's October 4th event might include more for Chrome OS fans than the rumored Pixelbook. David Cannon and 9to5Google have spotted multiple app references to Google Assistant coming to Chromebooks. Google's Home app notes that some Assistant apps will work with Chromebooks, for instance, while the Chat with your Assistant app recently started listing compatibility with the Chrome machines alongside the usual gaggle of Android releases. There was code hinting at Assistant support in the past, but these public nods suggest that support is imminent.
HP's rugged Chromebook x360 convertible is available to all
If you saw HP's Chromebook x360 and yearned for the day when you didn't have to be a student to try it, you now have your chance. HP has made the 11-inch convertible Chrome OS machine available to everyone, with a starting price of $300 in the US for a system with a 1.1GHz Celeron, 4GB of RAM and 16GB of expandable storage. You can spring for 32GB of storage if you depend heavily on Android apps or don't quite store as much in the cloud as Google might like.
