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We’ve been tracking virtual desktops for Chrome OS for months now. Since the first chatter about the feature coming soon to the four sneak peek videos already shown off in the Chromium Bug Tracker, we know quite a bit about what it will look like and how it will all work once the feature arrives. We’ve just not known when exactly that would be.
As of Google I/O 2019, however, that is no longer the case. In the session entitled Building Apps for the Chrome OS Ecosystem, Google made it very clear that we should expect to see Virtual Desktops in Chrome OS by version 76. For those unaware, that puts us near the end of July as Chrome OS updates roll out in 6-week intervals.
In the event it didn’t load in properly, jump to 8:15 in the video and you’ll breifly hear the presenter refer to Virtual Desktops and the M76 release date. This is the first time anyone from Google has officially acknowledged the new feature and definitely the first time anyone has put an official arrival date on it.
The mention was surely brief and simple, but the feature is one I’ve been waiting a long, long time for. If implemented alongside the removal of jank in the overview mode, this will take multitasking on Chrome OS to the next level and provide yet another layer of parity with other operating systems like Windows, Linux and MacOS.
In addition to this official announcement, we’ve also noticed a new test video from the Chromium Bug Tracker that shows off virtual desks handling animations in their minimized states. The entire thing looks smooth and simple, and it only adds to my anticipation of Virtual Desks for Chromebooks later in July.
