Timing on this one is still up in the air. That'd turn the Chrome OS launcher into a unified place for finding and installing practically any app that's compatible with a Chromebook and would push the Chrome OS experience back toward its original simple and easy-to-understand nature. My hope is that the move would be accompanied by the introduction of similarly native-feeling systems for finding and installing web apps and Android apps right from the launcher, too - both of which had been possible at one point but were disabled for various vague reasons a while back. As it stands now, finding and installing a Linux app on a Chromebook is an insanely complicated process, so bringing that function right into the regular Chrome OS launcher would be a massive improvement in user-friendliness. Second and equally significant, work is underway to let you search for and install Linux apps directly from the Chrome OS launcher. It'd be akin to the Apps section of Android's settings and would go a long way toward bringing all the different Chrome-OS-supported app types together and making them feel like part of a Chromebook experience instead of the disjointed mishmash they are today. Well, prepare to stop flailing, for Google's working on an answer: First, a new under-development Apps page would serve as a unified interface for dealing with every app installed on your system, regardless of where it came from. That's turned Chromebooks into uniquely versatile, platform-defying productivity machines - which is obviously fantastic - but it's also created a confusing situation where you have a zillion different places to look for apps and no centralized interface to manage 'em all. An easier way to find and manage appsĬhrome OS now supports a huge range of app types: web apps, Chrome apps, progressive web apps, Android apps, and even Linux apps. Its development is still in the early phases, but the earliest it's likely to arrive on most systems is with Chrome OS 74, which is slated to show up in late April. This video shows an early and rather rough demo of the concept in action:Īs you can see, Chrome OS's virtual desktops feature is currently set to support up to four separate desktop environments. And all it'd take is a couple quick clicks to switch between the two environments. With virtual desktops in play, you could add in a second completely separate environment and then switch between the two - so you might have all your work apps and windows open in one, for instance, and then keep your personal stuff completely isolated in its own standalone desktop. It's a slightly confusing concept to wrap your head around, especially if you haven't messed around with anything like it on other operating systems before, but here's the easiest way to understand it: Right now, when you sign into a Chromebook, you have a single desktop - the series of apps, windows, and shortcuts that serves as the foundation for everything you do. It's support for something called virtual desktops, which effectively allow you to maintain multiple desktop environments within a single Chrome OS sign-in. If you use a Chromebook for both work and personal purposes, this first feature could be quite the welcome addition. The specifics of scheduling can always change along the way, but these are all elements that Google's actively working on getting out the door and onto your device - and all of them have the potential to change the way you work for the better. Well, consider this your personal guide to some of the most significant new features currently in the works for Chrome OS and coming soon to a Chromebook near you. Heck, if you aren't paying close attention, it's almost comically easy to overlook some useful new element that snuck its way onto your Chromebook with little to no fanfare. Here in the real world, that means interface enhancements and other intriguing additions arrive fast and furiously - so often, in fact, that it sometimes gets difficult to keep track of all the shiny stuff showing up on your system. (On the flip side, of course, a Chromebook's software can't be customized by manufacturers in the way an Android device's can - something that may be a blessing or a curse, depending on your perspective.) Because of the way that operating system is structured, y'see, it's easy for Google to manage the process internally and create a level of consistency that just isn't possible on Android. Android OS upgrades may be a steaming, hot mess - thanks mostly to the way the platform relies on unmotivated device-makers to do the legwork - but over on the Chrome OS side of things, by golly, it's a whole other story.Ĭhrome OS upgrades come out like clockwork, quietly and automatically, every two to three weeks.
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