Chrome OS 71 is Now Available

Google this week made the latest version of Chrome OS available to Chromebooks, adding a number of useful new features. Four key features apply only to Google’s Pixel Slate, but those should be coming to more Chromebooks in a future release.

“The Stable channel has been updated to Chrome OS 71.0.3578.94 for most devices,” the Chrome Releases blog notes. “This build contains a number of bug fixes and security updates. Systems will be receiving updates over the next several days.”

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According to Google, the following features are new to Chrome OS 71 on all compatible Chromebooks:

  • Refreshed look for Camera app
  • Fingerprint and PIN enrollment in Out of Box Experience
  • Autocomplete in Launcher search
  • Adaptive top UI in Chrome browser based on user scrolling
  • Unified setup flow to connect with an Android phone
  • New features for families including app management and screen time limits
  • Ability to create semi-full pages in Launcher for customizations

Beyond that, Chrome OS 71 adds three features to Pixel Slate only:

  • Launched Android P
  • Assistant natively integrated into the OS
  • Fingerprint authentication mode
  • Portrait mode for Camera app

 

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Conversation 7 comments

  • dcdevito

    15 December, 2018 - 12:21 pm

    <p>This is the benefit of updating your OS every 6 weeks, by Spring Google will iron out all the various oddities that exist in the OS. </p>

    • bart

      Premium Member
      15 December, 2018 - 1:12 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#382171">In reply to dcdevito:</a></em></blockquote><p>Something Microsoft should do, an update every 6 weeks ;)</p>

    • nicholas_kathrein

      16 December, 2018 - 8:24 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#382171">In reply to dcdevito:</a></em></blockquote><p>Maybe, but I'm thinking it might be this time next year till the software is really ironed out. It takes longer than you'd think to get software advanced to a well working state. </p>

  • locust infested orchard inc

    15 December, 2018 - 11:28 pm

    <p>The Chrime OS on Chrimebooks commit daylight data robbery. I just hope Santa is fully aware of this, with Rudolph and the other reindeers fully trained to sniff out the contraband, thereby preventing any presents containing the offending product being spread globally, replacing them with the Surface Go.</p>

    • George Rae

      17 December, 2018 - 10:01 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#382314">In reply to locust infested orchard inc:</a></em></blockquote><blockquote><em>Put the bong down you need a break.</em></blockquote><p><br></p>

  • Jeff Jones

    16 December, 2018 - 1:08 pm

    <p><em>Bart over in premium said: "</em><em style="background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245); color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Something Microsoft should do, an update every 6 weeks ;)"</em></p><p><br></p><p>Microsoft needs to implement an A / B partition system for the OS before they start updating every 6 weeks. But, to do that they would also need to completely separate third party applications and settings from the OS partition. I'm not sure that is possible until UWP are the only apps available.</p>

    • waethorn

      17 December, 2018 - 12:34 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#382438">In reply to DataMeister:</a></em></blockquote><p>Are you nuts?! Windows 10, once you get a full set of updates installed, balloons out to almost 30GB. They don't have volume compression down to a level where you can implement something like squashfs, like Chrome OS does, and Windows is fully mutable, for better or worse (mostly worse). And you want to double that storage requirement?</p>

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