3 new features that improve integration with your Android mobile

Although they have been officially in Europe for a short time, Chromebooks have just turned 10 years old. Google took advantage of this milestone to reflect on the origins of its computer operating system and talk a little about the new features to come on the platform.

If you’re unfamiliar with them, Chromebooks use Chrome OS as their operating system, a Linux-based system that takes the Chrome browser as the basis of the primarily web-centric user experience. Over time, this system has continued to evolve by integrating support for Play Store and Android applications, positioning itself as a very complete alternative to computers running Windows or Mac, especially in low-cost models.

Google wants to take advantage of the control it has over Android and Chrome OS to achieve a more integrated experience between computers and mobiles. More precisely, 3 improvements are starting to arrive on Chromebooks to improve integration with your Android mobile.

Phone Hub: Android notifications on your Chromebook

Phone Hub is without a doubt the most important new feature of the update. A mobile icon will appear in the bottom bar of the Chromebook. By clicking on it, we will be able to obtain information about our mobile such as the battery level or the coverage. We will have access to quick settings such as activating the Wi-Fi hotspot, muting the phone or finding it.

Phone Hub also gives us the ability to respond to mobile notifications and access recent Chrome tabs on mobile on the computer. A great novelty.

Wi-Fi network synchronization

Google is expanding the ability to sync Wi-Fi networks between Android and Chromebooks. When you add a Wi-Fi network to your mobile, it should sync from your Google account to appear directly on the Chromebook without having to re-enter credentials.

Send files with nearby sharing

A few months ago, Google introduced Nearby Sharing, the option to send files between Android devices. This option will arrive in the coming months on Chromebooks so that you can easily and wirelessly send your files from your mobile to your computer and vice versa.

More news to come on Chrome OS

• New screen capture tool.
• A new tool to save your important files called Tote (screenshots are also saved here from now on).
• Multimedia controls in the quick settings menu.
• New parental control options, highlighting these 2:
  1. By configuring your child’s account, you can directly add their school email account.
  2. You can now help your child create a PIN code during the initial setup.
• New clipboard that saves the last 5 items.
• New quick response tool.
• The desktop gets better and when you turn on the computer, it picks up the windows you had open when you turned it off.

One of the key things about Chromebooks is their automatic update system, so this news should start reaching you the next time the computer asks you to restart to apply updates.