It’s Chrome OS’s 10th birthday today, and Google has announced a slew of cool new Chrome OS 89 features to celebrate. The milestone update enhances Chromebooks with several changes to enhance the user experience. Here are a handful of Chrome OS features announced by Google today that are available for devices.
Phone Hub and Wi-Fi sync
It’s been a month since we covered a working version of Phone Hub in Chrome OS. Since then, Google has been working behind the scenes to prepare for the launch. Phone Hub is coming to Chrome OS 89, promising tighter integration between Android and Chromebooks. You can respond to the text messages of your phone, see the battery and its signal, and locate them on your Chromebook. Phone Hub also shows some of your recent Chrome tabs from your phone, so you can easily stop where you left off. This feature also adds enhanced Wi-Fi synchronization that stores your network passwords between your devices.
To use Phone Hub, you need to have the latest Google Play service installed on your phone. You should see Phone Hub on the shelf after turning on your phone’s Chromebook and Bluetooth.
Sharing in the environment also comes to Chromebooks, which should be indicated by Google for Chromebooks in the coming months. If you do not want to wait, you can enable flags via chrome: // flags / # near-share and chrome: // # activate-sub-page
Upgraded screenshot experience
Google is upgrading the screen capture experience to make it discoverable and intuitive. With the new tool you can take a full, partial or windowed screen and even bake in a screen recorder. You have access to the screen recorder and capture tools from the shelf settings. The extra discovery level allows tablets to access these tools without attaching a keyboard. The screen recorder can store between your microphone and the recordings in .webm. On my Pixel Slate, it averages 30FPS at a sound sampling rate of 48 kHz.
Never lose your files with Tote
No one likes to dive deep into their maze of guides to find their files. To resolve this frustration, Google Tote (formerly Holding Space) adds Chrome OS 89, a handy productivity feature. Tote provides quick access to your screenshots and recent downloads from the taskbar. You can also pin your essential files on it so that your folders will never be lost again. You can also drag files and photos with your mouse or finger to Chrome apps, saving you time.
To increase your productivity, pin your important files by right-clicking and selecting Pin. Fixed and recent files will appear on the shelf next to the system tray.
Improved media controls
Google is fixing the notification box in Chrome OS 89 by refining the media controls. Instead of getting in the way, Chrome OS places the media controls in a map below the quick switches. You can search (fast forward or rewind), pause and play, or reject the notifications. To keep the active playback just click, you can paste it on the shelf. Similar to the media controls of Android 11, it looks and feels much more polished than the old style cards.
Virtual desktops with supercharger
Virtual desktops get a significant update in Chrome OS 89 to improve your productivity. You will be able to add up to eight virtual desktops, organize them with your cursor and send windows to a specific desktop. Virtual desktops will also be persistent about recharging devices so you can jump right into your work.
Quick answers
Google is launching quick responses to Chromebooks to make it easier to find answers. Powered by Google Assistant, Quick Answers provides definitions, conversions, and translations. A new Google Assistant map is displayed when you right-click a word on a webpage.
Improved clipboard
Chrome OS 89 offers a clipboard driver that further enhances your productivity. Instead of guessing which words you copied, you can refer to the clipboard manager. This feature gives you the freedom to be creative with text or image you are working on, without losing it. It helps maintain a better workflow when writing or swapping between Chrome windows.
To use the enhanced clipboard, copy any image or text from a webpage, then press the Launcher (Everything) key + V. Up to five recently copied items will appear on the clipboard manager.
Streamlined Family Link
Google streamlined the Family Link setup and first saw your device upload Chrome OS 89. If parents set up their child’s Google Account, they can add a school account. Parents can supervise their child while using school programs like Google Classroom. They can also help their child create a PIN to make accessing their account easier.
Media app annotation
With Chrome OS 89, you can unleash your inner Picasso (not really) by annotating photos in the media app. You have access to three drawing media: pen, highlighter and gum. The ink size ranges from ‘extra thin’ to ‘extra thick’ and a handful of color choices. This feature helped me take notes after taking a screenshot and enhancing my meme gameplay.
Double-click on any image in the file application to annotate. After the media application launches, click the annotation tool next to the photo edit button.
Intuitive choose-to-talk
Google is working hard to make Chromebooks more accessible to people with disabilities. In Chrome OS 89, the developers have revamped the select-to-talk user experience. It has new controls that speed up, slow down and interrupt the voice, along with jumping to different parts.
You can enable Select to talk by enabling the feature in the Accessibility section of Chrome settings.
A fresh new icon set
Most of the Chrome OS’s built-in app icons now have a fresh coat of paint that matches the aesthetic operating system. Canvas and Calculator are a few under a handful of refreshing icons for the system app, and they look funny.
The features highlighted in Google’s official announcement only scratch the surface of what’s new in Chrome OS 89. I’ll dive deep into more new, experimental features in future articles. Chrome OS 89 may take a few days to reach your device, but overall it’s an exciting version worth the wait.
We want to thank Google for the exclusive swag for us for the 10th anniversary of Chrome OS, which includes a suitcase with iconic color bars and stickers.