Chrome OS 92 Brings eSIM Support, Google Meet, More

Google has released Chrome OS 92, which supports eSIMs, bundles Google Meet, and offers other usability improvements.

“Many people this past year used Chromebooks to keep in touch with family and friends, stay entertained and work or learn from home,” Google’s Alexander Kuscher writes. “Today, we’re introducing a few new features that make connecting and communicating with others—on video chat or through text—even easier.

New features and improvements include:

Google Meet. Google recently transitioned Meet to a Progressive Web App (PWA) and it is now bundling the messaging solution with Chrome OS. “Google Meet includes exciting features, like video backgrounds, that make meetings more inclusive and fun,” Kuscher says. “We’ve also made performance improvements like adapting video calls to different network conditions and adjusting video performance during screen sharing.”

Easier emojis. You can now bring up the emoji keyboard by typing Search + Shift + Space, and can now search for emoji (“coffee”).

eSIM support. As with many smartphones, Chromebooks can ship with eSIMs, which let users connect to wireless carriers without fiddling with small and easily lost physical SIMs. “This will be particularly helpful if you need to connect to a cellular network but can’t run to the store for a SIM card, and for international travelers who frequently switch between networks,” Kuscher says.

New wallpapers. Chrome OS 92 adds new wallpapers—something Microsoft should do in Windows feature updates, by the way—in this case with a togetherness theme from three Black artists, Aurelia Durand, Sabrena Khadija, and Meech Boakye.

Explore app improvements. Google describes the Chrome OS Explore app as “an evolved form of Get Help,” it’s designed to help new users get up to speed with the platform and learn about its various features. In Chrome OS 92, Explore includes a digital magazine aimed at families and kids in the United States only for now. “The first issue focuses on game design, and in addition to suggesting apps to help kids learn how to design and code their own games, it also features an interview with game creator Jesse Schell,” Kuscher says.