On this week’s episode of The Chrome Cast, we finally had a chance to sit down and digest some of the awesome announcements that came out of Google’s 2021 I/O developer conference. There weren’t a lot of consumer-facing products unveiled but the list of new software and platform features is a long one and we’ll […]
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A new version of Wear OS will be announced during Google I/O today
In just a few hours, during Google’s I/O conference, the company will unveil updates to its products and services as well as talk at length about the future roadmap for each. According to the conference website, an update to Wear OS – the company’s smartwatch operating system that they’ve all but given up on until […]
Continue Reading[U: Togetherness] Grab these new wallpapers for your Chromebook
Update 05/12/21: Google has added new wallpapers for your Chromebook which celebrate cultural diversity. The new ‘Togetherness’ collection features artwork by Sabrena Khadija, Meech Boakye, and Aurélia Durand. You can grab them from our ever-growing Google Photos collection using the blue button below! Update: Google has added several new designs to their wallpaper manager in […]
Continue ReadingMore major changes coming to your Chrome browser’s global media controls
A user on Reddit by the name of Leopeva64 (Thanks for the heads up!) made us aware of some pretty significant changes that are coming to your Chrome browser’s global media controls and even provided Chromium Repository commits to reflect these changes. We previously detailed how Google was turning your music controls on their head, […]
Continue ReadingNest speakers and smart displays set to improve voice recognition and continued conversation
Using the state-of-the-art BERT technology, or Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers – a pre-training model for natural language processing that was open-sourced in 2018 – Google is looking to significantly improve the voice recognition and continued conversation technology in Nest speakers and smart displays. To spare you from all of the geeky details, which you […]
Continue ReadingChromecast with Google TV fixes WiFi and Bluetooth and adds better video controls
While last month’s Chromecast with Google TV update focused on improving 4K support and decreased the likelihood that users would have their dongle bricked, the April update, which is rolling out now, seeks to improve security, WiFi, Bluetooth, and more. It’s also adding a new menu section for advanced video controls. Let’s take a look! […]
Continue ReadingChrome OS 90 arrives with Everything Button 2.0, Scan Tools, Diagnostics and more
Just a day behind schedule, Google has announced the release of Chrome OS 90 and according to the update server, a good majority of Chromebooks should be ready to download the update. Over the next few days, we’ll be tearing apart the update to bring you any unannounced features that may be hiding in this […]
Continue ReadingG Suite for Nonprofits officially gets the Workspace treatment
With over 150,000 nonprofits using Google’s G Suite productivity tools every day, the company has deemed it time to bring them into the Workspace fold. Previously, G Suite for Education and Enterprise for Education were rebranded to Google Workspace for Education. Now, G Suite for Nonprofits is being renamed to Google Workspace for Nonprofits. Along […]
Continue ReadingDrive Storage quota disappears from the Chromebook Files app, but likely for good reason
A little known, but extremely useful feature built directly into the Chromebook Files is the ability to access a visual storage quota bar that shows you how much space you are using versus how much space remains available. Upon opening Files and navigating to the Downloads folder or any other local storage location, you can […]
Continue ReadingChromebook Files app adds an option to prevent synchronization over mobile data
With the reintroduction of Chromebooks with LTE technology and even Phone Hub’s final release with Chrome OS 89, Google is beginning to think more thoroughly about how a mobile network may factor into the operating system and its features. In Chrome OS 91 Canary, I was poking around the other day and encountered a prompt […]
Continue ReadingGoogle begins integrating CloudReady into Chrome OS
After surprising many with the acquisition of Neverware, the developers of CloudReady, Google is now seeking to integrate it directly and officially into Chrome OS, according to a new Chromium Repository discovered by Kevin at About Chromebooks. Since CloudReady has been around for a while by itself, the initial stages of these two code bases […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Play Pass now boasts over 800 games and apps for just $5 per month
At launch, Google’s Play Pass subscription service already had a lot of value packed in. Even still, It’s continued to add in loads of games and apps for just about every type of person’s interests, and while it hasn’t really appealed to hardcore mobile gamers, which is totally a thing, it’s done enough to become […]
Continue ReadingOver 100 Chromebook models to receive Android 11 upgrade for a better app experience
Chromebooks have been running apps using the Android 9 (ARC++ or Android Runtime Container) framework for years now, and after skipping Android 10, Google has now listed 117 specific Chromebooks which will receive an upgrade to Android 11. The newest update will allow for apps to run more smoothly and scale properly – two problems […]
Continue ReadingGoogle Meet unlimited video calls for regular Gmail users being extended again
Google Workspace just tweeted out that standard Gmail account users would be given a bit more time to take advantage of Meet’s 24-hour ‘unlimited’ video calls. This is fantastic news and probably spawns out of the fact that many people are still facing lockdowns and difficulties connecting with one another. Originally, the ability to utilize […]
Continue ReadingNest Detect sensors are finally back in stock on the Google Store, but likely not for long
Last year, Google took its Nest Detect sensors off of its store shortly after discontinuing its Nest Secure hardware. This was likely done in anticipation of the company’s upcoming new devices created in partnership with ADT, but what they failed to realize is that existing Nest Secure owners would like to continue to purchase Detect […]
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