ChromeOS 130 Update Brings AI-Powered Features and Productivity Enhancements

ChromeOS gets a major update with plenty of goodies and new features

Google is currently rolling out a hefty update to its operating system for Chromebooks. Last week, Google released its major ChromeOS M130 update to everyone on the operating system's stable channel. This latest version of the Chromebook OS includes a variety of improvements, including Quick Insert, Focus, and Welcome Recap features, among others. Quick Insert is a new menu that allows you to quickly input emojis, symbols, GIFs, links, calculations, and even access AI features. Depending on the type of Chromebook you have, Quick Inserts can be activated with a special keyboard key. However, all ChromeOS devices can also do it using the Launcher key + F keyboard shortcut. Focus is a new feature that makes it easy for you to toggle ChromeOS's Do Not Disturb (DND) mode, set and adjust your focus times, select or create new Google Tasks, play curated playlists for better focus through YouTube Music Premium (subscription sold separately). The idea here is to reduce distractions and boost productivity. Welcome Recap is a new feature that helps you jump back into what you were doing when you start up your Chromebook. Once enabled, you can quickly view and restore apps and tabs that were open in your previous session. It'll also show you info you might be interested in, like weather, upcoming calendar events, and Google Drive suggestions. Other notable improvements in this update include: quick access to starred Google Drive files from the shelf, an AI-powered Recorder app that can create transcriptions, better OS-level privacy settings, multi-calendar events support, and more flexibility with Picture-in-Picture (PIP) windows for playing videos while doing other tasks. ChromeOS version M130 is currently being rolled out to all users and should be available to you within the upcoming days if you don't already have access to these new features and improvements.

ChromeOS 130 Brings a Pixel-Like Recorder App, AI Features, and More

Besides, the new update adds Quick Insert, Focus Mode, and an option to adjust the screen and keyboard backlight brightness. ChromeOS 130 is rolling out to all Chromebooks, and it brings new features to both Chromebook and Chromebook Plus platforms, including a built-in recorder app and AI features. Here's everything new in ChromeOS 130. What's New in ChromeOS 130? The first major addition is the new Recorder app, which is rolling out to all Chromebooks. It looks quite similar to the one you find on Pixels with Material You theming and on-device transcription. On Chromebook Plus, you also get title suggestions and three-point summaries. The app seems to be rolling out to Chromebook Plus first, as we couldn't find it on our non-Plus unit. Quick Insert is another great feature rolling out in ChromeOS 130. The Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the first Chromebook to get a dedicated Quick Insert key. With this, you can now use a keyboard shortcut Launcher + F to emulate the same key on other Chromebooks. Similarly, Focus Mode turns on DND and integrates Google Tasks in the UI, allowing you to work efficiently and be more productive without distractions. I've tried the new Focus Mode, and it has how it helped me get things done quickly. So, I'm sure you all will like it too. Welcome Recap is also rolling out in ChromeOS 130, and it shows you the files and apps you were working on before you last shut down your Chromebook. You can restore all the apps in a jiffy, and it can also serve as a reminder if you usually forget what you were working on last night. Besides, there's now support for multiple calendars, and an option to adjust keyboard backlight brightness in Settings. There's a similar slider in display settings with Ambient brightness control, but we couldn't find it on our Chromebook. As for the Chromebook Plus-specific new AI features, there are two new features -- Studio-style mic and Help me Read. The Studio-style mic feature is pretty straightforward. It uses AI to enhance the input sound quality and processes it to give it a studio feel. The Help me read feature, on the other hand, also uses AI to summarize websites and PDFs. Users will see a text field where they can ask questions about the documents or pages and get summaries for the same. That's not it. There are some other notable additions that Google has shared in its Chromebook support thread like the ability to access Google Drive files from the shelf, privacy controls that are more accessible in Chrome, and suggestions in Tote. What are your thoughts on ChromeOS 130? Let us know in the comments below.

ChromeOS 130 roll out brings big features and welcome changes

Key Takeaways ChromeOS 130 update introduces new features such as Quick Insert and Focus Mode. New audio enhancements and AI elements are included in the update for a better user experience. Picture-in-Picture windows can now be easily resized and moved, among other improvements. ✕ Remove Ads ChromeOS might not be the most popular platform when it comes to computing devices, but it's got its fair share of supporters, and a huge backing from its parent company, Google. It's been over a decade since the OS's initial release, and over time, it's gotten dramatically better with a variety of updates, and more recently, has also been paired with better hardware to really showcase its abilities. Related What is ChromeOS? Everything to know about about Google's Linux-based operating system 1 As ChromeOS 130 arrives for Chromebooks this week, Google has now shared details about the update, going in-depth on what users can expect. The support page for the latest update was spotted by the folks at 9to5Google, and offers a wealth of information about new features and changes. ✕ Remove Ads What's new with ChromeOS 130? Google highlights 14 new features that can be found in the latest update. At the top of the list, Google is now touting its Quick Insert feature that will allow users to easily insert symbols, emojis, links, calculations, and more with just the press of a button. While all current Chromebooks can access this by using the Launcher + f key, Chromebooks with a dedicated Quick Insert button will find this feature most useful. Source: Google Google shared that some Galaxy Chromebook Plus models have this right now, and there will be more models with this hardware button that are set to arrive next year. In addition to the above, there will be a new Focus mode that will allow users to minimize distractions. While the usual applies with a dedicated space free of distractions thanks to a DND mode, Focus will also allow the execution of a curated music playlist to help users really lock in. ✕ Remove Ads Tote will provide suggestions to users so that frequently accessed files, local or online, can be pinned for easy access. Google Drive will also start making similar suggestions, providing easy access to important or frequently used files. Furthermore, users will also see better Google Drive integrations, with files now being able to be directly accessed from the shelf. Google will also implement a new Welcome Recap feature that will allow users to resume apps and work from a previous session during the start-up process. Those that are always using their Chromebook for recording sessions will be excited that a new audio enhancement has been built into the experience. The brand states that this new feature will "make your Chromebook's built-in microphone sound like a professional studio microphone." ✕ Remove Ads While this sounds a bit like an overreach, it does sound useful, with the standard noise-cancelling getting added "de-reverberation effects", along with "advanced balancing, reconstruction of fine details, and room adaptation." Of course, this wouldn't be a proper update in 2024 with some added AI elements. And Google is delivering its new AI-powered Recorder app, which can "create transcriptions that can detect and label speakers, and provide a summary of recorded content." Source: Google There will also be a new AI feature called Help me read on ChromeOS, which will allow users to get the information they need with just the click of a button. This feature will provide a summary of the text that's on the screen, and there will even be a Q and A section if users need to ask more about the text. While useful, this feature won't be available to all users and will only be available on Chromebook Plus devices. ✕ Remove Ads And finally, Picture-in-Picture windows are now getting a slight upgrade, allowing users to just move the windows to the side of the screen when it needs to be out of the way. In addition, users will be able to easily resize the PiP window with a double tap, and multi-calendar support is now going to be available just in case you need to keep tabs on events from multiple accounts. Overall, a great update that's packed with features. Again, if you own a Chromebook, be sure to head into the settings menu to grab this update. If you're not sure how and need some guidance, we've got the help you need with our detailed walkthrough. ✕ Remove Ads

ChromeOS 130 adds Recorder app, Studio-style mic, Help me read, docked PiP, more

ChromeOS 130 started rolling out on Tuesday, with Google's changelog today confirming what's new. Overall, this is a bigger release and delivers the second set of new Chromebook Plus features. All Chromebooks now have a Recorder app that features on-device transcription that works in real-time after downloading a 100MB model. There's a nice Material You and dual-column layout with the ability to capture device audio. On Chromebook Plus, you can download a 2GB model for a three-point summary and title suggestions. Similarly, Chromebook Plus devices now have a new "Studio-style mic" that uses AI to simulate a high-quality microphone. This "further enhances" the existing noise cancellation and de-reverberation effects with "advanced balancing, reconstruction of fine details, and room adaptation." Users who have enabled noise cancellation will get the Studio-style mic enhancements by default starting with this release. If a user wants to revert to the old noise cancellation-only effect, they can select the appropriate option in Settings > Device > Audio. You enable it from the video call controls in the Shelf where you'll also find "Appearance effects" that "adjust lighting, brightness, and more." The other big Chromebook Plus feature in ChromeOS 130 is Help me read. Right-click in websites and PDFs to bring up a "Summarize" button and "Ask a question" text field. Picture-in-Picture windows can now be docked to the side of the screen so that just a sliver appears. Previously, this would close the PiP, while a double-tap now lets you expand and minimize the floating window. ChromeOS 130 is also adding multi-calendar support to "view all events from multiple calendars that they have selected within their Google Calendar." Settings > Device > Keyboard now gives you a backlight brightness slider and the ability to turn on/off the ambient light sensor. There are now similar preferences under Display for screen brightness.