What can we expect from the new features on Chrome OS?

To celebrate 10 years of Chromebooks, Google is unveiling a host of exciting new features for Chrome Operating Systems. Most of these functions aren’t new to Windows and Mac users but they will be a welcome addition to the Chrome OS. What can you expect? Read on!

For starters, the new Phone Hub feature will be able to connect an Android phone to a Chromebook. This will allow you to respond to texts, check a phone’s battery life, enable a Wi-Fi hotspot and locate other devices. The Phone Hub feature fits into an expandable taskbar widget that can show you recent Chrome tabs that you’ve browsed on your phone. This convenient feature will allow you to work faster by essentially linking both your Android smartphone and Chromebook seamlessly.

The Google-enabled Wi-Fi Sync Feature is another useful addition. It allows you to connect to any Wi-Fi network you’ve configured on your Android or Chrome device, a simple move that you won’t believe you’ve lived without this long.

Nearby Share is another new Chrome OS feature to look forward to. This feature functions a little like Apple’s AirDrop feature. It allows people to send and receive files between devices. In the coming months, Chrome laptop Operating Systems will also have a Nearby Share feature.

The Screen Capture tool is also on the Chrome OS menu. To access this tool, you have to visit the Quick Settings menu in the Chrome OS which will allow you to record your screen and/or take screenshots. These can be accessed later from the Tote space on the Chrome OS Shelf. Other key features in the Chrome OS family will include an improved Clipboard, the launcher Key and the Quick Answers feature. 

The first two combined will allow you to save five items to paste without switching windows and then provide access to them later. Quick Answers lets you right-click a word in Chrome to access a definition, translation, or unit conversion. A new, improved virtual desktop that restores windows after your device has been rebooted and even sends apps to other virtual desktops, caps this list of impressive features on the Chrome operating system.