Support our independent tech coverage. Chrome Unboxed is written by real people, for real people—not search algorithms. Join Chrome Unboxed Plus for just $2 a month to get an ad-free experience, access to our private Discord, and more. Learn more about membership here.
START FREE TRIAL (MONTHLY)START FREE TRIAL (ANNUAL)
In the past couple weeks as the world has come to grips with life on this side of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve watched as Google has cancelled the in-person I/O conference, cancelled the remaining virtual side of the event, paused updates to Chrome and Chrome OS, and then restarted those updates. It’s been an odd time to be alive for sure, but as Chrome updates resumed after only a week off, we’ve been on the lookout for new versions of the OS.
We know that Chrome and Chrome OS 81 are just around the corner (slated for next week around the same time that the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook should start shipping) and that Chrome 82 has been totally scrapped, but we weren’t entirely sure when we would start seeing the newest version – 83 – in the Developer Channel as things ramp back up on the development side of things. Looking at the Chrome Releases blog, it would appear that the Developer Channel has been updated for desktop, but not Chrome OS just yet.
Being curious, we grabbed a few devices around the office, updated them all to the latest Developer Channel build and, to our collective surprise, all of them are now on Chrome OS 83. This update basically pulls all the goodies out from Chrome OS 82 that we talked about previously and leverages them alongside what we assume will be some new, additional features. We’re still digging around to find any and all Chrome OS 83-specific updates and we’ll share as we uncover them, but it is nice to see all the cool stuff in store for Chrome OS 82 still be alive and well in the current Developer Channel build.
As it currently stands, we expect to see this version of Chrome OS hit the Stable Channel build around May 26th. Things can shift here and there, but we’re hopeful that the skipping of a version and the week-long pause will help the developers get things back on track after a very long wait for Chrome OS 80 last month. As we find those new, tucked away features, we’ll be sure to share.
Shop All The Latest Chromebook Deals
SUBSCRIBE TO UPSTREAM
Get Chrome Unboxed delivered straight to your inbox
Upstream is our flagship, curated newsletter with the top stories, most click-worthy deals, giveaways, and trending articles from Chrome Unboxed sent directly to your inbox a few times a week. Join 31,000+ subscribers.
