A new design is rolling out on Chrome OS as part of the latest update (version 50). That introduces Google’s Material Design to the interface. While the OS and browser don’t look too different, there are a few visual differences across the whole platform. For instance, there are sharper edges, altered animations, tweaked colours and slightly different icons. It’s quite a subtle change that won’t perturb most users.
Furthermore, for touchscreen Chromebooks, the Chrome OS is getting a different screen layout, called “Hybrid Mode”, for easier navigation and as a result touchscreen chromebooks will default to this mode, though users can turn it off.
In version 51 of Chrome OS, which is available for developers, users have spotted a checkbox in their settings menu that reads “Enable Android apps to run on your Chromebook.” The feature briefly appears before vanishing but the Chrome OS source code appears to indicate that Chromebook users will soon get access to the “more than a million” games and apps on the Google Play Store. Users who have enabled the setting report a new Play Store app opening with a tutorial on how to get started. This will result in Chrome OS featuring Android apps for all of its users for the first time; previous android apps were available on Chrome OS on a limited basis.
