A great first release for 2022, with much more to come
Chrome OS 97 is here, following right on Chrome 97’s heels. The OS update features the majority of the desktop-specific updates that came to the browser, but there are some more intriguing changes coming to Chromebooks, like better offline functionality, accessibility improvements, and a greatly enhanced gallery app.
Offline grammar checking
Chromebooks have included a built-in spelling and grammar checker forever, but for a long time, the software has relied on internet connectivity to fulfill its grammar checking duties. With Chrome OS 97, that’s a thing of the past. Chromebooks updated to this version will now automatically check for both grammar mistake and tpyos while you write, even when you’re offline. If you don’t want yours to do that, you can turn this off, though.
Multi-window gallery app with audio support
Chrome OS’ built-in gallery app may already look pretty slick, but it’s long had the issue that you couldn’t open two images side by side in two windows. That’s finally possible, and you can open as many windows for photos and other files as you like — I can’t believe it took Google so long, but better late than never. The company first started testing this publicly in August 2021.
Another improvement coming to the gallery app is audio support, making it easy to listen to songs stored on your Chromebook or to preview any other audio without opening a dedicated player.
Magnifier improvements
For those who need to rely on the screen magnifier’s services due to bad vision, Chrome OS 97 lets them choose to move the portion of the screen that’s magnified whenever they move the cursor. This comes in addition to the existing option that lets you move the magnified area when your cursor touches the edges of the display only. An option to keep the mouse in the middle of the screen already exists, too.
Chrome OS got off to a good start in 2022, but there are a lot more things to come. During CES 2022, Google has announced a slew of features headed for its desktop OS, like the option to unlock your laptop with your Wear OS watch, access to your messaging apps from your phone without having to install anything on your Chromebook, and what is essentially Bluetooth multipoint for virtually all headphones.
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