- ChromeOS 130 brings a native Recorder app with support for transcriptions.
- The release brings AI features on Chromebook Plus like Help me read and Studio-style mic.
- Besides, the new update adds Quick Insert, Focus Mode, and an option to adjust the screen and keyboard backlight brightness.
ChromeOS 130 is rolling out to all Chromebooks, and it brings new features to both Chromebook and Chromebook Plus platforms, including a built-in recorder app and AI features. Here’s everything new in ChromeOS 130.
What’s New in ChromeOS 130?
The first major addition is the new Recorder app, which is rolling out to all Chromebooks. It looks quite similar to the one you find on Pixels with Material You theming and on-device transcription. On Chromebook Plus, you also get title suggestions and three-point summaries. The app seems to be rolling out to Chromebook Plus first, as we couldn’t find it on our non-Plus unit.
Quick Insert is another great feature rolling out in ChromeOS 130. The Galaxy Chromebook Plus is the first Chromebook to get a dedicated Quick Insert key. With this, you can now use a keyboard shortcut Launcher + F to emulate the same key on other Chromebooks.
Similarly, Focus Mode turns on DND and integrates Google Tasks in the UI, allowing you to work efficiently and be more productive without distractions. I’ve tried the new Focus Mode, and it has how it helped me get things done quickly. So, I’m sure you all will like it too.
Welcome Recap is also rolling out in ChromeOS 130, and it shows you the files and apps you were working on before you last shut down your Chromebook. You can restore all the apps in a jiffy, and it can also serve as a reminder if you usually forget what you were working on last night.
Besides, there’s now support for multiple calendars, and an option to adjust keyboard backlight brightness in Settings. There’s a similar slider in display settings with Ambient brightness control, but we couldn’t find it on our Chromebook.
As for the Chromebook Plus-specific new AI features, there are two new features — Studio-style mic and Help me Read. The Studio-style mic feature is pretty straightforward. It uses AI to enhance the input sound quality and processes it to give it a studio feel.
The Help me read feature, on the other hand, also uses AI to summarize websites and PDFs. Users will see a text field where they can ask questions about the documents or pages and get summaries for the same.
That’s not it. There are some other notable additions that Google has shared in its Chromebook support thread like the ability to access Google Drive files from the shelf, privacy controls that are more accessible in Chrome, and suggestions in Tote.
What are your thoughts on ChromeOS 130? Let us know in the comments below.
