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The LineageOS team has announced that starting tomorrow, their new 15.1 build will be released to select devices.  This build is an important milestone as it brings the Android variant up to Oreo 8.1 as the base.

We’ve been working hard these months to get this new version available; the changes that were done in upstream (AOSP) are huge: Project Treble changed the way hardware is managed in Android, so all the OEM-abandoned platforms that are supported by Lineage had to be adapted for the new platform. Moreover, we’ve taken the time to make the code future-proof by converting a lot of our hardware-related code to make use of the new Treble capabilities: things such as LiveDisplay and lights (leds) control are now up to date with the new Android standards, so we’re going to have an easier time forward-porting stuff whenever a new Android version comes out.

Along with the update to Oreo 8.1, there are also some new features that have come along in this build.  Styles allows you to change the accent color that will also change from a light to dark theme based on the time of day (if enabled).

If you have been looking for the stock wallpaper from the Google Pixelbook, look no further.  I’ve added the waves on white sand wallpaper to the Wallpaper page here on the site but also have added it to this post below the break.  That’ll save those of you who aren’t interested having to wait for it to download.

The wallpaper measures 2400×2400 so you can manipulate it to work on all of your tablets, Chromebooks and of course, you phone.

After a long delay and well after the Intel m3 and m5 variants were released, ASUS has finally put forth the m7 model of the Chromebook Flip C302.  Identical in every way to the m3 and m5 models, this new model sports the Intel m7 6Y75  processor clocked at 1.2GHz with 16GB of RAM and 64GB of Storage.

ASUS is aiming this variant of the Chromebook Flip at the power user, clearly, as 16GB of RAM is almost unheard of in a Chromebook.  It is debatable if it is needed but it is there nevertheless.  As far as price, this m7 variant is $929 and is available through Amazon.

As the overlap of Android and Chrome OS continues, Google is working hard to make things more touch friendly.  This includes the browser in Chrome OS.  There are now two flags that you can change within the browser on your Chromebook that will allow you to pull to refresh the page you are viewing.  It is a handy feature, especially if you are using your Chromebook in tablet mode where you can’t easily access the refresh button.

Enabling this new pull to refresh feature is done via one or two flag changes in the browser.  The first flag is chrome://flags/#pull-to-refresh.  For a lot of users, this is the only flag you will need to change.  Once you enable it, restart the browser on your Chromebook and Bob’s your uncle.  However, if you find that you can’t get the pull to refresh to work all the time, there is a second flag you need to change.