8 noteworthy new features coming to Chromebooks this month
Sometimes, the most significant story is also the easiest to miss.
While everyone's focused on shiny new hardware and months-old ecosystem improvements, Google is quietly delivering what may be its most transformative Chrome OS update yet — and it's an update that'll reach most Chromebooks released over the past five years.
Chrome OS 70, in the midst of rolling out right now, dramatically changes the look and feel of the operating system and makes it more touch-friendly and Android-like than ever. Some of the interface enhancements will be apparent the second your Chromebook gets the software — like the revamped appearance of the shelf (the dock of icons at the bottom of the screen), the newly combined and Android-Pie-design-injected Quick Settings and notification panel, and the streamlined tablet home screen that gives you a permanent on-screen grid of icons (kind of like an always-open version of the traditional Chrome OS launcher).