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Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 vs Acer Chromebook Spin 713

Posted on February 16, 2021February 16, 2021 by Prakhar Khanna

Samsung announced the Galaxy Chromebook successor recently. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 is almost half the price but retains the convertible form factor. The question is how does it compare to the Acer counterpart? Here is a Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 vs Acer Chromebook Spin 713 comparison to see how the two Chromebooks stand against each other.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 vs Acer Chromebook Spin 713: Specs

	Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2	Acer Chromebook Spin 713
Dimensions	12” x 8” x 0.55”	11.8″ x 9.3″ x 0.66″
Weight	2.71 lb	3.20 lb
OS	Chrome OS	Chrome OS
Display	13.3” QLED FHD	2K 13.5″ IPS
CPU	Intel Core i3-10110U \| Intel Celeron 5205U	Intel Core i3-10110U \| Core i5-10210U \| Core i7-10510U
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics
Memory	8GB / 4GB	4GB \| 8GB \| 16GB
Storage	128GB / 64GB	64GB \| 128GB \| 256GB
WLAN	Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2	IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Camera	720P HD (1MP)	720P
Audio	Stereo Speakers	Stereo Speakers
Pen	Active Pen support (sold separately)	–
Keyboard	Backlit	Backlit
Ports	2 USB-C \| MicroSD-Multi-media Card Reader	HDMI, USB 3.0, 2x USB 3.2 Type-C
Battery	Up to 13 hours	Up to 10 hours

Design and Display

Both the Chromebooks come in the standard laptop body. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 features a 13.3-inch QLED FHD display with a touchscreen. It has two USB Type-C ports and a MicroSD-Multi-media Card Reader. There is Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 802.11ax 2×2 as well. It houses a 720P HD camera on the front and comes with stereo speakers. There is a 360-degree hinge that allows it to fold backward, making it a heavy tablet.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 vs Acer Chromebook Spin 713

The same concept can be found in the Acer counterpart. The Chromebook Spin 713 comes equipped with a 13.5-inch touchscreen display. You can get up to 2K resolution on the IPS display. It comes with MIL-STD-810G military-grade durability as well. You get IEEE 802.11 WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, stereo speakers, an HDMI port, a USB 3.0 port, and 2 USB 3.2 Type-C ports. Both devices run Chrome OS and come with a backlight keyboard.

Performance and Battery

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 is powered by the Intel Core i3-10110U and Intel Celeron 5205U processors, paired with Intel UHD graphics in both configurations. You get storage options of 4GB or 8GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.

On the other hand, the Acer offering comes in a slew of options from 10th Gen Intel Core i3 to 10th Gen Intel Core i7 processors. You can get up to 14GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD internal storage. However, the base variant comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB flash memory. It has integrated Intel UHD Graphics.

It is rated to last up to 10 hours, while the Samsung offering is said to deliver a 13-hour battery life.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 vs Acer Chromebook Spin 713: Price

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 starts at $549.99 (Intel Celeron 10th Generation) and goes up to $699.99 (Intel Core i3 10th Generation). It is available in two color options of Mercury Gray and Fiesta Red.

In contrast, the Acer Chromebook Spin 713 starts at $530 for the Core i3, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage variant and goes up to $1,000 for the Core i5, 16GB RAM, and 128GB SSD storage. There is a 256GB SSD variant that is coupled with 8GB/16GB RAM and Corei3/Core i5 processors.

Buy Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2

Buy Acer Chromebook Spin 713

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You may soon be able to mirror your Pixel’s screen on a Chrome OS device

Posted on February 11, 2021February 11, 2021 by Prakhar Khanna

We recently reported that Chrome OS could soon establish more with its own syncing-with-phone alternative, Phone Hub. The feature is tipped to be built on Chrome OS that already offers integration with Android devices by introducing new capabilities. It is said to expand on these abilities of phone-to-Chromebook sync features by adding a new UI in the taskbar and adding notification mirroring. Now, the latest report claims that you could soon mirror your Google Pixel’s screen on your Chrome OS device.

Folks over at 9To5Google have unearthed a new feature in Chrome OS Phone Hub. There is a new flag that has been added to chrome://flags. It is:

Enable Eche App SWA.
Enable the SWA version of the Eche.
#eche-swa

“SWA” here is short for “System Web App.” It means a built-in Chrome OS app created using web technologies, kind of like a Progressive Web App Further, “Echo” is said to be a Spanish word “eche,” which can be translated as “throw” or “cast.” Thus, Eche is supposed to be an app related to a video feed being broadcast over WebRTC. There’s a whole more bunch of changes they have come across. To sum it up, Phone Hub will presumably stream video from somewhere and show it in the window when you click on a notification that’s been mirrored from your Android phone.

“Eche” project is said to be a way to mirror your phone’s screen onto Chrome OS. It will allow you to see and use your phone’s apps directly from your Chromebook. A similar feature is offered by Microsoft’s Your Phone app for Windows 10.

However, this new Phone Hub feature is said to be exclusive for Pixel phones. The reason why it is exclusive to Google’s Pixel line of smartphones is that the Javascript for the Eche app is found in a Google source folder that is specific to Pixel phones. It could likely roll out to more phones in the future.

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Your Chromebook and phone could be synced better soon

Posted on February 4, 2021February 4, 2021 by Prakhar Khanna

One of the advantages of being in the Apple ecosystem is the wireless syncing of devices at all times. Your iPhone and Mac are in sync to make your work life easier. Microsoft has tried the same approach with the Your Phone app on Android phones to sync them with your Windows machine. Soon, Chrome OS could establish more with its own syncing-with-phone alternative, Phone Hub.

Chrome OS’ Phone Hub feature was unearthed by XDA-Developers back in September. The feature is tipped to be built on Chrome OS that already offers integration with Android devices by introducing new capabilities. Now, a Reddit user by the username /u/Xenofastiq on the Chrome OS subreddit has reported that the Phone Hub feature is functional for them.

The OS already offers easy integration with your Android phone for things like messages, Smart Lock, and automatic WiFi hotspot. The Chrome OS Phone Hub will expand on these abilities of phone-to-Chromebook sync features by adding a new UI in the taskbar and adding notification mirroring. While the feature is in development, it seems like it is only working for a handful of users.

“Enable hotspot works, silence phone puts the phone on DND, and Locate Phone makes the phone ring. And then ofc, the most recent Chrome tabs, well, are the most recent I’ve seen on my phone. Oh and another thing, replying through the notifications on my Chromebook works perfectly so far for me,” reported the user.

As per the comments on the post, Phone Hub is only working for the users on the Chrome OS Beta and Dev channels. It is likely that Google is now testing the feature via server-side flags and is almost ready to roll it out to everyone. However, the user says they have run into some bugs, but outside of that “everything seems to work pretty well.”

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Chrome OS 88 introduces PIN and biometric sign-in support on websites

Posted on January 27, 2021January 27, 2021 by Nadeem Sarwar

Google has announced the latest build of Chrome OS that upgrades it to version 88. And among the most useful changes that it brings to the table is the ability to sign-in on a website using your Chromebook’s PIN or even rely on biometric authentication via the on-device fingerprint sensor. Needless to say, it is an extremely convenient addition for folks who don’t like the hassle of entering their log-in credentials every time they access a frequently visited website, or simply don’t trust the browser’s password save feature.

“Now you can securely sign in to websites with the PIN or fingerprint you’ve set up to unlock your Chromebook with our new Web Authentication (WebAuthn) feature. Websites that support WebAuthn will let you use your Chromebook PIN or fingerprint ID—if your Chromebook has a fingerprint reader—instead of the password you’ve set for the website,” Google says in a blog post detailing the latest Chrome OS update.

In addition to using the PIN or your biometrics as a password, Chrome OS 88 also allows them to be used as the second key for two-factor authentication. Websites that support the WebAuthn protocol will now automatically prompt users to enable PIN or biometric authentication when they sign-in following the Chrome OS update.

Plus, Chrome OS 88 also adds a new feature that allows users to turn their Chromebook’s display into a smart display by following this path: Settings > Personalization > Screen saver. Users can pick an album from their Google Photos library or select from the art gallery images as their screen saver. Here’s a sample of how the new smart display trick of Chrome OS looks in action:

Chrome OS 88 smart diisplay feature — Image: Google

As for the functional aspect of it, the lock screen can be customized to show useful information such as weather. Plus, it also has a dedicated music widget that can be used to play or pause the playback without unlocking the device.

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Wacom Now Works with Chromebooks

Posted on January 26, 2021January 26, 2021 by Adam Z. Lein

Chromebooks and Chrome OS are continuing to evolve to be more like more powerful desktop computer operating systems. Today, Wacom announces that the “One by Wacom” graphics drawing tablet is now certified with the “Works with Chromebook” program from Google. The “One by Wacom” tablet is a small inexpensive $59.95 pressure-sensitive graphics tablet that can be plugged into other computers via a USB port in order to add drawing capabilities. Wacom’s Intuos, Intuos Pro, Cintiq, and Cintiq Pro will receive The Works With Chromebook certification in the coming months as well.

The Wacom graphics tablets will work in Chromebook drawing apps such as Clip Studio Paint, Concepts, and IBS Paint as long as you have Chrome OS version 87 which was released in November of 2020. All pen-pressure sensitive Android apps on Chrome OS should detect the Wacom tablets as well. It’s unclear if Google’s Chrome Linux subsystem also includes Wacom drivers for Linux-based graphics programs.

While Chromebooks don’t have nearly the amount of high-end graphics programs that you’d want to use a high-end Wacom pen tablet with, the “One by Wacom” and its Chrome OS support is mainly aimed at students and teachers. The pen can be very useful for drawing diagrams, illustrations, writing out math equations, etc. It will also be very useful for pointing out items in a presentation during a remote learning session.

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HP focuses on education with 5 new Chromebooks

Posted on January 19, 2021January 19, 2021 by Prakhar Khanna

CES 2021 might have ended but the announcements have not. HP has announced a wide range of new Chromebooks. It has launched HP Chromebook 14 G7 alongside four other Education Edition (EE) products.

“HP is committed to enabling better learning outcomes for 100 million people by 2025. With education no longer confined to the four walls of the classroom, HP is creating technology that helps teachers, students, as well as parents, thrive in blended learning environments,” said Bill Avey, General Manager and Global Head of Education, Personal Systems, HP Inc. “HP’s innovative Chromebook lineup gives educators and students access to flexible, engaging, and personalized devices that are critical to ensuring a quality education.”

The HP Chromebook 14 G7 is powered by the latest Intel processors. It comes with a 14-inch diagonal screen, ultra-wide HD webcam, and dual microphones. There are multiple HDMI and USB-C ports to add displays and accessories. And, of course, all the products here run Chrome OS.

HP has added new Chromebooks to its Education Edition portfolio, designed to enhance the student learning experience. The HP Chromebook x360 11 G4 EE is powered by the latest Intel Celeron multi-core processor. It has a 360-degree hinge, and an optional USI garaged pen. There is an integrated HD camera on the front and an 8MP rear camera. It supports Wi-Fi 6.

Coming to the HP Chromebook 11 G9 EE and the HP Chromebook 11MK G9 EE, these are aimed to help students reach their potential with cloud-first learning and are powered by Intel or MediaTek processors. The latter has a battery life of up to 16 hours.. Further, the HP Chromebook x360 11MK G3 EE is also powered by MediaTek processors but features a 360-degree hinge.

Availability:

HP Chromebook 14 G7 is expected to be available in February.
HP Chromebook x360 11 G4 EE is expected to be available in March.
HP Chromebook 11 G9 is expected to be available in February
HP Chromebook 11MK G9 EE is expected to be available later in January.
HP Chromebook x360 11MK G3 is expected to be available later in January.

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Samsung Galaxy Chromebook gets a successor at almost half the price

Posted on January 7, 2021January 7, 2021 by Prakhar Khanna

Samsung announced its $999 Galaxy Chromebook last year with a 13.3-inch, gorgeous 4K AMOLED display and Intel’s Core i5-10210U CPU. Now, it has announced the successor, Galaxy Chromebook 2. While it is a successor, it gets a QLED FHD display and a lowered price tag. Samsung will be offering two configurations, starting at $549.99 (Intel Celeron 10th Generation), and $699.99 (Intel Core i3 10th Generation).

From 4K to FHD, and AMOLED to QLED

The Galaxy Chromebook 2 features a 13.3-inch QLED FHD display. It is powered by the Intel Core i3-10110U Intel Celeron 5205U processors, paired with Intel UHD graphics. You get plenty of storage options with 4GB or 8GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. On the connectivity front, it has two USB Type-C ports and a MicroSD-Multi-media Card Reader. There is Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2 as well. It houses a 720P HD camera on the front and comes with stereo speakers.

The Galaxy Chromebook 2 also has Active Pen support, but the pen is sold separately. It measures 12 x 8 x 0.55-inches and weighs less than 1.5 KG. It is built out of A/D Aluminum that also houses a 45.5Wh battery. The keyboard has backlit, and it can fold backward, making it a heavy tablet. However, Samsung seems to have stuck with the old design language as there is a big bezel at the bottom of the display, whereas it is surrounded by slim bezels on the other three sides.

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 specifications

Dimensions	12” x 8” x .55”
Weight	2.71 lbs
OS	Chrome OS
Display	13.3” QLED FHD
CPU	Intel Core i3-10110U Intel Celeron 5205U
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics
Memory	8GB / 4GB
Storage	128GB / 64GB
WLAN	Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), 802.11 ax 2×2
Camera / Mic	720P HD (1MP)
Audio	Stereo Speakers (1.5Wx 2)
Pen	Active Pen support (sold separately)
Security	TP
Keyboard	Backlit
Material	A/D Aluminum
Ports	2 USB-C \| MicroSD-Multi-media Card Reader
Battery	45.5Wh (Typical)

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Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 price could be much lower than expected

Posted on December 24, 2020December 24, 2020 by Prakhar Khanna

Samsung seems to be working on the successor of its high-end Chrome OS laptop, the Galaxy Chromebook. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 first surfaced online earlier this month. Recently, its design details were leaked online, which revealed that the device would not get a major overhaul in terms of design, but would come with improvements under the hood. Now, pricing of the upcoming laptop has also surface online, and it is much lower than expected.

A Twitter user with the handle @_h0x0d_ has claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 2 could be launched for a price of $699. This is much lower than the original Galaxy Chromebook’s price of $999, which was also suggested to be the price of the upcoming model. Plus, Samsung is also reportedly addressing battery issues as the upcoming device is rumored to offer 12+ hours of battery life. The tipster also suggests that the Galaxy Chromebook 2 will be 178% louder than the predecessor. Plus, it will go on sale through Best Buy and Samsung.com in February next year.

p.s. how about 699? https://t.co/DDSdmTiDu3
— WalkingCat (@_h0x0d_) December 23, 2020

In the leaked images, the new model seems very similar to its predecessor, which is not a bad thing since that device was very well received. The Galaxy Chromebook 2 is tipped to be powered by the 10th generation Intel Core i5 processor, which is a generation old. Alongside the processor, it could come equipped with up to 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM and up to 1 TB of SSD storage. On the front could lie a 13.3-inch 4K AMOLED display. There could be a QLED model as well. All of this is likely to be housed in a lightweight body.

That said, we have no information on the launch date of the device. Although, Samsung is planning to host an Unpacked event on January 14, where it is tipped to launch the Galaxy S21 series and Galaxy Buds. The original Galaxy Chromebook was also unveiled in January. Hence, we expect the successor to launch at Samsung’s ‘First Look’ event on January 6.

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Chrome OS 87 adds a tab search tool and battery status for Bluetooth accessories

Posted on December 5, 2020December 5, 2020 by Nadeem Sarwar

Last month, Google announced a host of new features for Chrome browser, and one of them was tab search. Back then, the company revealed that the feature will first make its way to Chrome OS, followed by its arrival on the Chrome browser for other platforms. Google has now started the rollout of Chrome OS 87, and as you might have guessed by now, it brings the nifty tab search feature. Notably, this feature is yet to appear on the stable build of Chrome browser for Windows 10 or macOS.

The tab search tool can be used by tapping the drop-down arrow button in the top right corner of the screen. It will let users quickly find the tab they’re looking for from a universal list of tabs, irrespective of the window or group it has been positioned. You can either enter the relevant keywords to find it, or just scroll the whole list in the drop-down window that pops up when you tap on the tab search icon. Here’s how the tool looks:

Tab Search in Chrome browser (Image Credit: Google)

In addition to the Tab Search tool, Chrome OS 87 also lands another useful feature – a battery level indicator for connected Bluetooth accessories. When users connect a Bluetooth accessory such as wireless headphones with their Chromebook, a notification will pop up at the bottom right-hand side of the screen that will tell them the battery level of their audio accessory. Once the two devices are connected and you have been listening to music for a while, you can head over to Quick Settings under the Bluetooth icon or the main Settings section to check the battery level at any time.

Chrome OS 87 brings new wallpapers too

In addition to the aforementioned features, the latest build of Chrome OS also adds 36 new wallpapers. You can access these new wallpapers by doing a right-click on the home screen and then tapping on the ‘Set Wallpaper’ option. As expected, the update also fixes a host of bugs and brings general performance improvements. Google says that the Chrome OS 87 update is being rolled out in a phased manner. So, if you haven’t received the update on your Chromebook yet, it will arrive in the next few days.

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MediaTek unveils two Chromebook-focused chipsets

Posted on November 10, 2020November 10, 2020 by Prakhar Khanna

MediaTek has unveiled MT8192 and MT 8195 chipsets for the upcoming Chromebooks. While the former is designed on the 7nm process, the MT 8195 is built on the 6nm process for premium devices. Both of them integrate an AI processing unit (APU) to power a wide range of voice and vision-based applications.

The tech is designed to seamlessly process voice ID recognition and voice control, speech and image recognition, speech to text, live translation, object recognition, background removal, noise reduction, image and video segmentation, gesture control, and Google AR Core-based enhancements, all in real-time. Both chipsets also have a dedicated audio digital signal processor (DSP) to enable ultra-low-power voice wakeup (VoW) for voice assistants.

They come with a high dynamic range (HDR) image signal processor and hardware depth engine built into the chipsets. This gives device makers the option to integrate super-large 80MP 4-cell cameras, single 32MP cameras, or dual camera setups up to 16 MP + 16 MP to bring Chromebooks sharp and crisp HDR for video conferencing.

MediaTek’s MT8195, built on the 6nm TSMC process, integrates an octa-core CPU with four Arm Cortex-A78 cores and four power-efficient Arm Cortex-A55 cores. It also integrates MediaTek’s APU 3.0, providing up to 4 TOPS performance. It comes equipped with the 5-core Arm-Mali G57 GPU and quad-channel 2133MHz LPDDR4X memory. The MT8195 also supports up to three simultaneous displays. It comes with support for Dolby Vision, 7.1 surround sound audio and a Codec AV1 hardware video accelerator. Additionally, AV1 hardware decoding uses less data while still offering stunning graphics and smooth video experiences.

MediaTek’s MT8192 integrates an octa-core CPU with four Arm Cortex-A76 cores and four Arm Cortex-A55 to provide an ideal balance of power and efficiency. There is an APU 2.0 that provides up to 2.4 TOPs performance. The chipset also packs a powerful five-core Arm Mali-G57 GPU and 2133MHz LPDDR4x and UFS 2.1 storage. It MT8192 supports wide quad high definition (WQHD) displays with standard 60Hz refresh-rates or FullHD+ displays with up to 120Hz refresh-rates for super-fast responsiveness. Additionally, the chipset can support two Full HD displays simultaneously.

Both chipsets also integrate 4K HDR video decoding to provide excellent video quality while also maximizing battery life, allowing users to watch their favorite content for longer. In addition, the MT8192 and MT8195 support PCI-Express Gen 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 1.

Chromebooks powered by the MT8192 will hit the market in Q2 2021. The MT8195 will power premium Chromebooks, smart displays, tablets and other smart devices, which will hit the market at a later date.

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Chrome OS could get a dark mode soon

Posted on October 26, 2020October 26, 2020 by Prakhar Khanna

Dark mode has been one of the most popular features on mobile devices in recent years. After Android, Windows, iOS, and macOS, Chrome OS could finally be getting a system-wide dark mode soon. While the OS uses a light theme by default, it already has random dark dark elements, which includes the launcher and the shelf. The latest development comes from Android Police that reports the feature was spotted recently in the Chrome OS Canary channel.

To recall, Google tried to bring dark mode to Chrome OS but it couldn’t. For the unaware, Google introduced a flag in Chrome 78, which forced web content to use a dark theme on all platforms including Windows, Android, and macOS, but enabling it on Chrome OS caused webpages to crash. Plus, the file manager, and Chrome OS Settings page failed to load. You couldn’t revert the flag to default and access your files. Hence, the dark mode on Chrome OS was implemented back then, and Google promptly pulled the flag out in a hotfix update. However, the company might finally roll out dark mode on Chrome OS soon.

How to enable dark mode on Chrome OS?

To enable dark mode on Chrome OS, you need to copy and paste chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark and chrome://flags/#enable-webui-dark-mode as the URL. In the web page, you’ll be required to enable both flags from the drop-down menu. Further, to make Chrome OS darker, you can enable chrome://flags/#dark-light-mode.

As a result, the system apps as well as the browser will transform into a near-black color that suites the theme. While some UI elements are still not themed, the report says that the new theme looks a lot more polished than when it briefly appeared about a year ago.

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Acer unveils Chromebook Spin 513 powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c chip

Posted on October 22, 2020October 22, 2020 by Nadeem Sarwar

Acer has launched its first laptop powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c platform – the Acer Chromebook Spin 513. The device has a 2-in-1 convertible form factor, thanks to its 360-degree hinge which allows it to be used as a conventional laptop, touchscreen tablet, or in tent mode for media consumption. The Acer offering is made out of aluminum and weighs just 1.2kg, while the display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.

Talking about the internals, the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 features a 13.3-inch FHD display with slim bezels, translating to a screen-to-body ratio of 78%. As mentioned above, the device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 7c SoC that uses the custom Kryo 468 CPU and was introduced late last year. The Qualcomm silicon is paired with up to 8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. Acer touts a battery life of 14 hours for its latest Chrome OS machine.

4G support, octa-core SoC and $399.99 starting price

Connectivity is handled by Bluetooth 5.0, optional 4G LTE, and Wi-Fi 802.11ac with 2×2 MIMO technology. The port selection on Acer Chromebook Spin 513 is rounded off by a pair of USB Type-C ports (Gen 3.2), a USB 3.2 Type-A port, and a DisplayPort with USB Type-C interface. There are two built-in microphones on the machine for a better video call experience.

The Acer Chromebook Spin 513 starts at $399.99 and will be up for grabs starting February next year, while buyers in the EMEA market will get it priced at €429 with a January 2021 release schedule. Acer has also launched an enterprise-focused version of the device called Acer Chromebook Enterprise Spin 513 that is priced a tad higher at $699.99. It will hit the shelves in March next year. In the EMEA markets, it will arrive a month earlier carrying a price tag of €699.

Source: Acer

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Enterprise users can run Windows apps on Chromebooks now, courtesy of Parallels Desktop

Posted on October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 by Prakhar Khanna

In June, Google announced that Windows apps will soon be made available to Chrome OS through a third-party partnership. Now, it has launched Parallels Desktop for Chromebook Enterprise that provides access to Windows apps on Chromebooks. These users will be able to purchase the app for $69.99 per user. Will the help of Parallels Desktop, Chrome OS will now boot a full version of Windows inside a virtual machine.

This is still an initial release, and a deeper Chrome OS and Windows app integration will come over time. As of now, everything happens in a window that has two rows of buttons with various controls. These can be resized. Plus, full touch and keyboard input is supported. Moreover, the cursor transforms depending on what OS you’re hovering over.

The Windows 10 experience on Chromebooks is accessed from the Parallels Desktop icon in the bottom shelf. You can also enter fullscreen mode to hide the underlying operating system. Parallels and Google have worked together to enable features like a shared clipboard, shared user profiles, and custom folders. With the help of these features, you’ll be able to share files between the Windows instance and Chrome OS. It will also allow web links in the Windows instance to open the Chrome browser, which is the main part of Chrome OS.

The Verge reports, printers that are supported in Chrome OS will also be available in Windows, but webcams, microphones, and any other USB devices won’t be supported inside Windows as of now. However, Parallels is working to enable USB peripherals and webcams in a future update.

The new feature is limited to ‘power users’ – those have machines that ship with Intel’s Core i5 or Core i7 processors and 8GB of RAM for devices with a fan or 16GB of RAM for fanless models. To configure devices, it will require Windows 10 license from IT admins who will be able to use Google’s Admin console to enable Parallels on compatible devices.

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Google is promising nine years of Chrome OS updates for a few Chromebooks

Posted on October 16, 2020October 16, 2020 by Nadeem Sarwar

Chromebooks are great for light, web-based work, and for students too. And that they are dirt-cheap further adds to their appeal. But the biggest drawback of owning a Chromebook is a fixed product life, something Google calls Auto Update Expiration (AUE) date. Once a Chromebook reaches its AUE date, it stops receiving Chrome OS updates, leaving the doors open for security issues. In the past, Google has extended the AUE date of Chromebooks on multiple occasions, making it to eight years of promised updates for certain machines. Now, the company is adding another year of software support for a few Chromebooks, offering a total of nine years of official support.

First spotted by the folks over at AndroidPolice, Google’s updated Auto Update Policy page for Chromebooks has listed two new models – HP Pro c645 Chromebook Enterprise and the Lenovo ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook Enterprise. The latter was launched earlier this month and is a powerhouse machine that relies on AMD’s new Ryzen 7 3700C processor for Chromebooks. Currently, the Auto Update Expiration date for both the devices is listed as 2029, which means they will get Chrome OS updates for nine years.

Good news, but far from a permanent solution

We don’t know if Google is giving the same treatment to more Chromebooks, but this is definitely a good start. But it appears that Google is targeting premium machines that cost a pretty penny, especially those aimed at enterprise customers. However, it still remains a major drawback for Chromebooks. Windows PCs, on the other hand, can be updated without any limits. What this means is, as long as the hardware is good enough for you, you will continue to enjoy new features added by each successive Windows updates.

Lacros might be a savior, sort of!

Google has lately tried to partially fix this glaring problem of Chromebooks with the Lacros initiative. But, what is Lacros? Here’s how the official Lacros Git defines it: “On Chrome OS, the system UI (ash window manager, login screen, etc.) and the web browser are the same binary. Lacros separates this functionality into two binaries, henceforth known as ash-chrome (system UI) and lacros-chrome (web browser).”

Lacros essentially promises Chrome browser updates for Chromebooks even after they have reached the AUE date. And since Chrome browser is at the heart of Chrome OS, you will get new features and security enhancements even after your Chromebook has stopped receiving Chrome OS updates.

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Lenovo’s new ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook is an AMD Ryzen 7 powerhouse

Posted on October 12, 2020October 12, 2020 by Nadeem Sarwar

Lenovo has today launched a new Chrome OS machine- the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook – targeted at enterprise customers. The new Lenovo offering retains the signature ThinkPad series keyboard layout and looks quite premium, thanks to an aluminum chassis that is offered in a single Abyss Blue colorway. Lenovo’s premium Chromebook also features a 360-degree hinge for versatile use case scenarios, and comes with a host of optional add-ons such as a world-facing camera above the keyboard deck, a fingerprint sensor, and a garaged USI pen.

Another notable aspect of the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook is the silicon under the hood. The machine can be configured with up to an AMD Ryzen 7 3700U processor, which is part of a new “Ryzen C” lineup of AMD processors targeted squarely at Chromebooks. The AMD processor is paired with up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 256GB of B eMMC and M.2 PCIe TLC SSD, but users can further expand the onboard storage via the microSD card slot.

Over at the front, there is a 13.3-inch FHD display with 300 nits of peak brightness and narrow bezels. However, Lenovo will also offer the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook with a touch-sensitive 4K OLED panel (400 nits) as well. The device comes equipped with a 51Whr battery that is claimed to last 10 hours on a single charge and supports fast charging as well.

The machine’s I/O is handled by a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, a couple of USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, and a 3.5mm combo jack. Wireless connectivity is taken care of by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, but support for cellular connectivity is missing. Lenovo has priced the ThinkPad C13 Yoga Chromebook starting at $579 and says it will up for grabs soon, but the company hasn’t provided any details about availability in the international market.

Source: Lenovo

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