On Halloween day, Google moved the Productivity Launcher’s “Suggested Files” section out of the way and instead shoved it into the “Tote” found at the bottom-right of your Chromebook’s shelf. Many users were happy about this as the suggested files appeared in the launcher just above their recently opened apps and web apps – something […]
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Upcoming ChromeOS video conferencing tools gain background blur and replace
Last month, a new feature appeared in the Canary channel of ChromeOS that seems to be adding native video conferencing controls for Chromebooks. The video conferencing controls are still in early development but a recent update adds even more functionality to this upcoming feature. The video conferencing controls are nested on the ChromeOS shelf and […]
Continue ReadingFirst Look: ChromeOS quick settings Material You redesign appears, looks just as we predicted
Material You – Google’s gorgeous, personal design language – is getting a ton of attention at the company now that the foundation for a full makeover across its apps and services has been laid. From Nearby Share, the Chrome browser’s New Tab Page, the Play Store, ChromeOS, and even most recently, Google Collections, Google is […]
Continue ReadingThe Google Play Store’s intelligent space-saving “app archiving” feature is now rolling out
Remember the Nextbit Robin phone? Most people don’t. It wasn’t a particularly spectacular device, but it did ship with a unique feature that no one else was implementing at the time. The ability to archive your apps and reinstall them right from the app list or home screen may seem like something that should have […]
Continue ReadingZoom makes good on its promise to finally transition users to its web app for opening call links
Six months ago, Zoom popped a little banner up at the top of its Chrome web store application to remind everyone that it would soon be phasing it out in place of the new progressive web app. Well, that time has finally come, and the PWA is now the default experience for Chromebook owners. While […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Collections gets Material You update, fixes mobile loading, adds notes, custom links, more
It seems like only yesterday that I was complaining about how Google Collections wouldn’t load on my Android device no matter what I did. It was busted on Google’s end, and no amount of troubleshooting or talking to support helped the situation. If you don’t have a clue what Collections are, I don’t blame you. […]
Continue ReadingChrome’s upcoming Power Bookmarks to receive a new ‘Visual view’ so you can find things faster
It may seem odd that I’m so infatuated with Chrome’s upcoming “Power Bookmarks” feature, as it’s just a rework to the overall design of a traditional system. However, I find that this redesign-in-development is exactly what Google should have done years ago. Instead of focusing all of its efforts on replacing Bookmarks – a tool […]
Continue ReadingGoogle is preparing a “super secret” Chrome UI refresh for next year
Sometimes, Chrome’s development team has a little bit of fun with the way it words things on the code commits. I honestly think they do this because they know publications like Chrome Unboxed are watching what they post and hoping to find new features earlier than they’re announced. This week, as per Leopeva64 on Twitter […]
Continue ReadingChrome will give the new tab page a Material You overhaul based on the wallpaper you pick
With the news that Google’s beautiful, new design language – Material You – just appeared on Chromebooks, I’m getting more excited about the added personalization options for Chromebooks. The company has gone one step further than simply prepping its web apps and operating system for dark mode, and that means it took a lot longer […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Wallet finally comes to Fitbit Versa 4 and Sense 2, Google Maps soon
I’ve had a bit of a mixed experience of late with Fitbit. Since the aquisition of the company by Google, we now have the first Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Sense with Google branding on the box, and we also have the Pixel Watch as part of the larger, overall family at this point. Though I’ve […]
Continue ReadingYour Chromebook will soon make noise when your battery is low, fully charged, and more
Historically, ChromeOS has not employed any sort of system sounds like you see (or hear) Microsoft Windows, MacOS, or even Linux do. The closest we’ve ever gotten is the accessibility sound you get when turning the device on, but most people aren’t even aware of this neat little trick. I’ve always felt it would be […]
Continue ReadingSaving your Chrome Tab Groups to the Bookmark bar is finally working in Chrome Canary
One of my all-time favorite upcoming Chrome features is finally up and running properly! For what seems like forever, I’ve been tracking and reporting on something called ‘Tab Groups Save‘. The ability to save your Tab Groups for later, close the browser, re-open it and re-launch said groups has been completely absent since the tool […]
Continue ReadingMaterial You for Chromebooks just showed up in the Canary channel, and it’s beautiful
Wow – just wow. Back when I created my Material You for ChromeOS mock-up from scratch to show what the operating system could and probably would look like, I had no idea that we would actually get it. I also didn’t realize how accurate my mock-up would end up being. Over on Reddit today, the […]
Continue ReadingAndroid Auto’s big ‘Coolwalk’ visual redesign is now rolling out in beta
The ‘Coolwalk’ redesign for Android Auto was first revealed a year ago, and since then, many have waited to hear more about its rollout. It’s not exactly something everyone’s been clamoring to get their hands on, but a visual overhaul can be a nice thing to have when it finally shows up. Today, as first […]
Continue ReadingYou may soon be able to create animated GIFs with your Chromebook’s screen recording tool
While I’m sure not all of you utilize the built-in screen recorder on ChromeOS, I know that some of you – myself included – use it almost daily. It’s become an indispensable part of the Chromebook experience for me, and quite honestly, something that’s been missing for far too long. Now that the feature has […]
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