Google has a number of updates ready for Chromebook Plus devices and regular Chromebooks. Some novelties are immediately available.
The words “nice specs” and “Chromebook” rarely appeared in the same sentence until Google introduced a new one last year Chromebook Plusline announced. This consists of devices that meet a series of minimum specifications, so that the laptops guarantee a good experience. Apart from the fact that these more powerful devices are more pleasant to work on, they offer another advantage: Chromebook Plus devices get access to exclusive AI functions from Google.
Google makes known that more and more AI functions are coming to those devices. The first features are already rolling out, but for a number of features you will have to wait a little longer.
Help me write
The functions you can already expect include ‘Help me write’. This function ensures that you run out of words anytime and anywhere. Do you need a title for a blog, or an idea to share on social media? Or have you written a message that sounds a bit too blunt and you want to soften the tone? You will soon be able to ask the AI system on your Chromebook Plus. The tool immediately gives you options to shorten, rephrase or make text more formal, but you can also provide prompts to generate completely new text.
Magical images
Also new and immediately available is the Magic Editor coming to the Google Photos application. Google makes it particularly easy to edit photos and other images. You will see a button appear at the top left that will guide you to that magical editor. Once you get there, you can edit photos using AI. For example, you can select elements on the photo with your finger and then drag or reduce them. Is the result not quite what you hoped for? You can then adjust the AI system so that the light and background look as intended.
As a Chromebook Plus user, you also get access to AI backgrounds. You can use it to give your desktop some color or to hide your messy office during video calls.
Functions for all Chromebooks
In addition to the necessary AI innovations for Chromebook Plus devices, Google also has some innovations for normal Chromebooks. For example, when setting up a new Chromebook, you will be able to share the login details for your WiFi network.
Chromebooks will also have the ability to record GIFs. This is possible with the built-in screen recording tool that is already included in ChromeOS. From now on you will be able to save those recordings as a GIF file, so that you can share the moving images.
A Game Dashboard is also coming to ChromeOS. That will make it possible to make recordings of games, complete with voice-over. You can also immediately share recordings and screenshots with friends from the dashboard.
In the future
Google is also looking to the future when it comes to Chromebooks. For example, in the future you can expect a function that will guide you when you reopen the device. Most people will have a sea of windows and tabs open, but Google believes it can make this a bit clearer. For example, this involves looking at what you read on your smartphone, in order to predict what you will use the browser on your PC for.
There will also be a function that ensures that Gemini can summarize entire pages and PDF files. That in itself is not very impressive, but the opportunity to ask follow-up questions afterwards is.
Furthermore, people with physical disabilities will also be able to control their Chromebook using facial expressions and other movements. Google itself says that the project is still in its infancy and that not everything may work 100% right away.
