The latest update for Chromebooks, ChromeOS 103, launches some of the interesting new features announced at Google I/O and CES, including the ability to see your Android phone’s photos on your Chromebook.
There are three new things to look out for on your Chromebook in ChromeOS 103, but the biggest feature is the ability to instantly access the latest photos you took on your phone right on your Chromebook through Phone Hub.
The second feature, meanwhile, lets you get a Chromebook online with Nearby Share. Capping things out is a new Screencast feature, which makes it easier to record your screen in fun, new ways natively in ChromeOS.
This new ability to see photos from your Android phone on your Chromebook works even if you’re offline. After taking a picture on your phone, it will show within Phone Hub on your laptop under a new “recent photos” section. This cuts out the need to email pictures or use cloud services. In concept, it is a lot like the photos feature in Microsoft’s Phone Link app on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
As for Nearby Share, you can now visit the internet settings page on your Android Phone, select Wi-Fi Network, then Share, and tap the Nearby file under the QR code to bring your Chromebook online. This will bring over the Wi-Fi credentials to your Chromebook so it can connect to the internet with ease.
We previously talked about Screencast in a sitdown with Google, and it is designed so anyone can record, trim, and share transcribed screen recordings with Google Drive. It’s a new system app in ChromeOS 103, and will even let you draw or write on the screen as you record. The app is simple and easy to use when compared to competing solutions on MacOS and Windows.
Google says some additional features will be coming to ChromeOS this summer, including ones that will make all of your devices work better together. An example is Fast Pair, which lets you pair up hundreds of headphones, including Pixel Buds, much faster with your Chromebook device.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.