Tag: Chrome 67

As expected, the Chrome OS Beta Channel has officially been updated to Chrome 67 as the Chromium team prepares the next major update of the platform.  Chrome 67 will bring a number of improvements and features to Chrome OS and is slated for release on June 5th of this year.

The new build is 67.0.3396.26 (Platform version: 10575.22.0) which is the last build that landed in the Dev Channel late last week.  While it hasn’t happened yet, the Chrome OS Dev Channel should be updated to Chrome 68 later today. For those that are new to Chrome OS, the Beta Channel is the last stop before a release of the platform is sent to the Stable Channel.  The Dev Channel is what would be considered Alpha code.

A fifth and somewhat surprising Chrome 67 build has been released to the Chrome OS Dev Channel.  For readers new to Chrome OS, the Dev Channel is what would be considered the Alpha channel for the platform.  Build 67.0.3396.19 (Platform version: 10575.17.0) comes just two days after the fourth build was released and brings the update to all devices.  The released on April 25th, build .17, was noted that it was for some devices.

From a feature or fixes update, there isn’t much to report.  This is basically the same build but has had a few underpinnings that allow it to get it out for all devices.

In addition to the Chrome OS Beta Channel, which was updated today, the Chromium team in Google has also released a new build for the Chrome OS Dev Channel.  The update brings the third Chrome 67 build to the platform’s alpha testing channel, which is build 67.0.3383.0 (Platform version: 10539.0.0).  The updated build is available for the majority of devices that are currently in the Dev channel.

As a reminder to readers, the Chrome OS Dev Channel is the alpha testing channel for the platform and not intended for daily use.  It is aimed at testers and developers and will contain bugs and have crash issues as it is tested.

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.

The touch enablement of Chrome OS continues, as well as the merging of look-and-feel elements between it and Android.  The latest example is in the Chrome OS Canary Channel, the pre-alpha builds of the platform, where you will now find the Power menu to look strikingly similar to its Android counterpart.

The new came from long time Chrome OS evangelist François Beaufort who posted about the find on Google+.  If you are a fan of Chrome OS, Francois is one you need to follow as he is great at finding these little nuggets, especially in the Canary Channel.

A new commit in the Chrome OS Gerrit points to the floating virtual keyboard being enabled by default when you enter into tablet mode on your compatible Chromebook.  The feature leverages existing flags that you can find in the Stable Channel today, but this commit make the default behavior change.

Today, if you go chrome://flags/#enable-floating-virtual-keyboard you can enable the floating virtual keyboard on your Chromebook.  Then, when you go into tablet mode, the keyboard can be moved from fixed to floating using the overflow menu (the three vertical dots).  You’ll also find several other virtual keyboard flags to play with if you do a search for “virtual keyboard” on the flags page.