Google is rolling out a new version of its operating system for Chromebooks and Chromeboxes. Among other things, Chrome OS 84 brings new features for arranging windows, a new way to snap photos using your device’s camera, and support for saving video recordings as MP4 files so they’re easier to share with other apps or send to other people.

Here are a few of the changes in Chrome OS 84:

  • Overview Mode: Now you can drag a window to the left or right edge of the screen to quickly set up a split-screen view. If you’re using multiple displays you can also drag windows between displays from overview mode.
  • Take photos with the volume buttons: This makes it easier to snap a picture by pressing the up or down button. For now this feature is only available in tablet mode.
  • Resize virtual keyboards: Drag from a corner of the floating keyboard to change its size.
  • Save videos: Previously all videos recorded using Chromebook cameras were saved as MKV files. Now you can save them as MP4 files, which makes it more likely that third-party apps will be able to work with them, or that people you may want to send the video to will be able to play it.
  • Linux (Beta) microphone access: You can now go into the Settings for Linux (Beta) and flip the switch to allow Linux applications to access your microphone. This is disabled by default.

Google has also introduced a new help app called Explore that replaces the older Get Help app on Chrome OS devices. It allows you to browse help documentation even when you’re not connected to the internet and search within the app to find more details about your device and/or the latest Chromebook perks.

There’s also support for search within the ChromeVox (screen reader) menus.

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One reply on “Chrome OS 84 brings new features for tablets, Linux users (and everyone else)”

  1. No problem installing Chrome OS 84 update on my 3 year old Asus C300SA. It’s good to see Google supporting older hardware for a change.

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