Tag: Chrome OS

Today’s Deal – Google Pixelbook with Pixelbook Pen is $987 at Amazon

Today’s Deal is a great opportunity to pick up the Goggle Pixelbook along with the Pixelbook Pen.  Right now at Amazon, you can pick up the combination of the two for $987.  That is less than what the Pixelbook along normally costs.  This is the lowest price for the combination that I’ve seen for the premium Chromebook since its release.

The price is for the Intel i5 powered unit with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.  It is certainly powerful enough to do anything you would need, be it in Chrome OS or Android apps running on the device.

A Rare Third Update Lands in The Chrome OS Stable Channel

A third update to Chrome 66 has arrived in the Chrome OS Stable Channel today for the majority of devices out there.  Build 66.0.3359.181 (Platform version: 10452.96.0) arrives about 10 days after the second build of Chrome 66 was made available to Chrome OS.  It is not too often that a 3rd build is made available in the Stable Channel unless a show stopping bug or security flaw was found.  In this case, the Chromium team hasn’t released any details on what was addressed.

The update appears to be rolling out widely.  My Google Pixelbook was updated to the build late last night.

Third Chrome 67 Build Arrives in the Chrome OS Beta Channel

As expected, the Chromium team at Google has released a new beta build for the Chrome OS Beta Channel.  The update is the third beta for the channel as it is prepared for release early next month.  The update is build 67.0.3396.49 (Platform version: 10575.40.0) for those keeping score at home and is available for most devices in the channel.  The update arrived on my Acer Chromebook 15 this morning so most users should be able to upgrade to it now.

For those new to Chrome OS, the Beta Channel is the last stop before a build of the platform is released to the public Standard Channel.  Generally there are three to five beta builds before a release.  Timing wise, we probably have one more beta build to go before it is released.

PUBG Mobile Now Supported on Chromebooks – Kinda

If you are a PUBG Mobile player and have a high end Chromebook, today is a good day.  The latest update to the mobile version of PUBG for Android can now run on a Chromebook but there are a few catches that you need to be aware of before getting overly excited.  The cool thing is that it is there.

First, make no mistake:  You need a high end Chromebook for this to work.  The game defaults into low graphics mode even on my i5 Intel Pixelbook and while it looks great, it still isn’t a sweet looking as it is on my Pixel XL phone.  ARM-based Chromebooks are going to struggle mightily with the game.  If you load it up on an ARM model, be prepared for a fair amount of lag.

Chrome OS Beta Channel Build Adds USB Drive Access to Android Apps

It looks like that Android app access to USB drives in Chrome OS is a little bit closer than anticipated.  When I wrote about this feature coming to Chrome OS back in April, it looked like the feature would land in the Chrome 68 build which isn’t due until July.  However, in the latest Chrome 67 build for the Chrome OS Beta Channel, the feature is available and SD cards or USB drives show up as a storage option.

The feature is a big deal for those who use Android apps in Chrome OS.  It means that you can store documents, music or videos on an external drive and not eat up what is often a small amount of built-in storage on your Chromebook.

HP Chromebook X2 Now Available for Pre-Order at Best Buy

After being announced back in April, the HP Chromebook X2 is now available for pre-order from Best Buy.  The detachable Chromebook comes with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage and is available for $599.  The Chromebook X2 sports a 2400 x 1600 12.3″ display, all of which is powered by the Intel Core m3 Kaby Lake processor.

Other key features of the HP Chromebook X2 includes stereo speakers, a 13MP rear camera, 2 USB-C ports, a MicroSD card reader and a battery rated at 10.5 hours.  At Best Buy, the X2 comes in HP Matte Finish In Ceramic White And Oxford Blue.

Second Chrome 67 Beta Build Lands in the Chrome OS Beta Channel

As the Chromium team within Google continues to prep the next release of Chrome OS, a new build of Chrome 67 has arrived in the Chrome OS Beta Channel.  Build 67.0.3396.41 (Platform version: 10575.32.0) is now available for devices and is the second Chrome 67 based build to be available to testers with devices in the channel.

As a reminder to those new to Chrome OS, the Beta Channel is the last stop before a build gets released to the publicly used Stable Channel.  Chrome 67 is expected to be released on our around June 5, 2018.  That means we likely have a couple of more beta builds coming before it is released.

Second Chrome 66 Build Released to The Chrome OS Stable Channel

After being first released last week, a second Chrome 66 build is now available in the Chrome OS Stable Channel today.  Build 66.0.3359.158 (Platform version: 10452.85.0) is available for most Chrome OS devices starting today and is the build that systems which are capable of running Android apps will be updated to run.

I can confirm that my Google Pixelbook was updated to build .158 earlier this morning when I used the chrome://help command to check for the update.

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