Category: Chrome OS Dev Channel

A new commit in the Chrome OS Gerrit points to an exciting new features for Chromebook users who need to access shared network resources.  It looks like the platform is going to be gaining native Server Message block (SMB) support, and it may be as soon as Chrome 68

For those that may not be familiar with SMB, it is a client-server communication protocol used for sharing access to files, printers, serial ports and other resources on a network.  If you have ever accessed a network based file or printer, odds are very high you accessed it via SMB.

After the initial release earlier this week, the Chromium team has already released a second Chrome 67 build for the Chrome OS Dev Channel.  The new build is 67.0.3381.0 (Platform version: 10525.0.0) for those keeping score at home and should be rolling out to devices in what is essentially the Alpha testing channel already.

For those who have Chromebooks in the Dev channel, you can manually check for the update by typing chrome://help in the browser bar and checking for the update.

A sixth and perhaps final build has landed in the Chrome OS Dev Channel.  Build 66.0.3359.48 (Platform version: 10452.22.0) is now available to devices in what is considered the Alpha channel of Chrome OS and you can download it by typing chrome://help in the browser bar.  This is the sixth consecutive week that a new build has made its way into the Dev Channel and is somewhat rare.  Most of the time only 4 or 5 builds land here before the build is bumped up to the Chrome OS Beta Channel.

As for what is new, the Chromium team has released a partial log in the Git for the build.  Review it, most of the changes are security and performance changes since the latest Dev build.

The fifth and likely the last Chrome 66 build for the Chrome OS Dev Channel has arrived.  The new build is version 66.0.3359.31 (Platform version: 10452.11.0) and contains a number of bug fixes and other stability improvements as the Chromium team prepares to move it up to the Beta Channel.

With the release of this build, the Chromium team has released a Dev build for the last five consecutive weeks and based on past history, there is very rarely a sixth update in this channel.

As always, those who have devices in the Dev Channel can type chrome://help in the omnibar of the browser to force their devices to download the update.  As a gentle reminder, the Dev Channel is not recommended to be run on production Chromebooks as it is unstable and you will likely run into bugs or issues.

The Chromium team has released a fourth developmental build of Chrome 66 to the Chrome OS Dev Channel.  This marks the fourth consecutive week that a new build has been released to the platforms Dev channel, which essentially serves as its alpha build channel.  The new update is build 66.0.3359.10 (Platform version: 10452.1.0) and is rolling out to devices in that channel today.

As always, those who have devices in the Dev Channel can type chrome://help in the omnibar of the browser to force their devices to download the update.  As a gentle reminder, the Dev Channel is not recommended to be run on production Chromebooks as it is unstable and you will likely run into bugs or issues.

For the third consecutive week, a new Chrome 66 build is now available in the Chrome OS Dev Channel.  The new update is build 66.0.3356.0 (Platform version: 10443.0.0) and for those with devices in what is essentially the Alpha testing channel for the platform, should have the update soon if not already.

As always, those who have devices in the Dev Channel can type chrome://help in the omnibar of the browser to force their devices to download the update.  As a gentle reminder, the Dev Channel is not recommended to be run on production Chromebooks as it is unstable and you will likely run into bugs or issues.