ChromeOS, Google's operating system for Chromebooks, has just gotten a big update that’s brought many useful features, including some that could feel very familiar to people who use Windows 11.
The new update, ChromeOS 128, includes lots of features and changes, including Snap Groups that resemble Windows 11’s Snap Layouts, improvements to ChromeOS’ Camera app with the help of a technology called OCR (optical character recognition, which allows software to detect letters and words in a photo), and Audio Gain Control to optimize your device’s microphone volume automatically when you’re using video-calling apps.
Snap Groups appears to work similarly to Windows 11’s Snap Layouts, allowing you to turn your ChromeOS display into a split-screen display and view both windows at once, but use them independently.
This way of organizing the screen and the windows you have open, where individual windows can be resized or moved as part of a group of windows, is one of the most useful features in Windows 11, so it’s great to see it come (in some form) to ChromeOS. Using devices such as laptops and Chromebooks with smaller screens makes organizing open windows incredibly useful, as you have limited space to work with, and features that make this organizing easier and more intuitive are always welcome.
Better visuals and audio thanks to ChromeOS 128
The second big ticket feature coming in ChromeOS 128 is the integration of OCR into ChromeOS’s Camera app. As ZDNET describes it, it’ll enable Chromebooks to get better at “seeing” and processing text from a physical piece of paper through its lens. It’ll go further, apparently, allowing you to do things like search for words in an image and read documents out loud. OCR will be powered by machine learning, a very commonplace computing method that powers most AI features you’ll probably use today.
The company's OCR feature, which supports 77 languages and works in both horizontal and vertical orientations, can be enabled via ChromeOS’ Settings menu under "Text detection in preview.”
It’s encouraging to see companies like Google adopting useful features from other systems to enhance its own. While Windows 11 has faced plenty of valid criticism, it does bring some innovative ideas—like Snap Layouts—that make organizing windows easier.
By incorporating similar features into ChromeOS, Google is helping users work more efficiently, especially on smaller screens. This cross-platform borrowing ultimately often leads to better products for everyone, and it makes it easier for users of either ChromeOS or Windows 11 to try a different operating system that still feels somewhat familiar.
These are not the only features you can look forward to and you can learn more in the official ChromeOS 128 Release Notes published by Google, and ZDNET also has a handy part of its particle explaining how to make sure your Chromebook device installs this new update.
