Author: Clinton

If there is any doubt that the growth of Chrome OS is going beyond simply being another OS alternative, spend some time in the Chrome OS commit Gerrit and you will see that the plans are big for the platform.  The latest proofpoint?  This commit.

It seems that ARCore, the Augmented Reality API and framework that is currently in Android, is coming to Chrome OS.  While there is no indicator of when we will see ARCore in the platform, the fact that it is being weaved into it is critical as tablet form factors start coming to market.

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.

Good news for those of you who have the Razer Phone:  Android Oreo 8.1 is coming your way in just a few weeks.  The company, who bought Nextbit to get their first phone out the door last year, has announced that they are skipping Oreo 8.0, going straight to 8.1, and that a developer preview of the build is now available too.

The preview is only available for sideloading at the moment so unless you are comfortable with that process (unlocking the bootloader, ADB commands, etc), I recommend you wait until it is officially released next month.

SwiftKey, the Microsoft keyboard alternative for Android, has a new minor update rolling out that brings the ability to instantly share your location when using the keyboard.  The update, version 7.0.1.21 for those keeping score at home, is rolling out now in the Play Store.

Once you have this new version installed on your phone, you will have the ability to share your location while using the keyboard.  Sharing your location will share the current address of your location with whomever you are texting messaging while using the keyboard.

A third Chrome 66 update to the Chrome for Android beta app has arrived in the Google Play Store.  The new build of the app is 66.0.3359.67 and it arrives just shy of a week after the 2nd beta last week and is the third update in as many weeks to the beta app.

As a reminder, with the Chrome Beta app is a seperate app in the Play Store which you can download without having to join a formal beta program.  You can use it along side your stable version of Chrome on your phone with no problem.