ChromeOS just copied one of Windows 11’s best features

Google is rolling retired a caller ChromeOS update that makes it easier to support your on-screen apps organized, transcript substance from images, and set camera and microphone settings connected Chromebook devices.

One of the much notable features introduced successful ChromeOS 128 is Snap Groups — a diagnostic akin to Windows 11’s Snap layouts that allows you to easy radical apps unneurotic successful a assortment of fullscreen layouts. The diagnostic is adjacent triggered the aforesaid mode arsenic Microsoft does it, by hovering implicit the maximize app button.

The ChromeOS camera app present supports Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract substance from captured images of letters oregon different documents. It allows users to transcript oregon hunt the substance successful images, much easy person images into searchable PDFs, and person the built-in ChromeOS surface reader talk image-based text. Google says its OCR supports some horizontal and vertical detection successful 77 languages, and is disabled by default successful photograph mode.

Additionally, the Magnifier instrumentality volition present enactment with ChromeVox — allowing the surface magnifier to automatically travel words erstwhile substance is work aloud, helping visually impaired users to support their place. This is besides disabled by default, and volition necessitate some Magnifier and ChromeVox to beryllium enabled successful the instrumentality settings.

Chromebook cameras and microphones are besides getting immoderate quality-of-life improvements — utilizing them requires turning connected privateness controls and app permissions successful 2 abstracted places, but present Google has simplified this by adding bundle permissions to the apps conception of the ChromeOS settings menu. There’s besides a caller Auto Gain Control (AGC) diagnostic that allows apps similar video calling bundle to automatically optimize microphone volume. This should amended the audio prime connected calls and volition notify users successful the speedy settings sheet erstwhile the diagnostic is overriding manual audio controls.