This Saturday, Google announced that the dev channel for Chrome OS has been updated to “56.0.2924.12 (Platform version: 9000.15.0) for all Chrome OS devices except mario, minnie and stout.”
The build brings in several security features and bug fixes, as well as feature enhancements. One of the biggest changes that Google is bringing to the new OS version is its “Material Design” philosophy.
One of of these is an overhaul of the ‘Quick Settings’ menu, which is getting more icons for shortcuts to frequently used tools. Basically, the Material Design concept brings in enhancements to the look of settings menu as well as the setup splash screen. There’s also a change to the app shelf, and open apps will now be shown with a dot.
Google’s Material Design philosophy itself states one of its goals as developing a “a single underlying system that allows for a unified experience across platforms and device sizes.”
Essentially, that’s where Microsoft is headed as well with its Project NEON, although that brings in some very specific elements for augmented reality and holographic experiences as well. That’s still in the works, and many of its elements are expected to be seen on the Windows 10 Creators Update coming out in Spring 2017.
As for Chrome OS, if you want to get on the dev channel to try the new features, you can follow the steps below:
Switching channels
- Sign in to your Chromebook with the owner account.
- Click the status area, where your account picture appears.
- Click Settings > About Chrome OS > More info….
- Click the Change channel… button.
- Pick a channel from the box that appears.
“Warning: Switching from an experimental channel to a more stable channel will delete everything from your Chromebook, like downloaded files, photos, owner permissions, and saved networks for all accounts. You’ll need to enter all your Google Accounts again.”
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