Google has announced a couple of neat new features for the Chrome OS that powers its Chromebook series of laptops and tablets.
The most alluring might be the new picture-in-picture video mode that works alongside the Netflix app that’s available for the Play Store.
The video playback window will remain in the foreground and stream your favourite TV shows and movies, while you go about other business – like pretending to work within Google Docs, or shopping online, for example.
In a post on the Google blog, the director of Chrome OS software, Alexander Kuscher explained: “Now, you can watch Netflix “picture-in-picture” with the app available from the Google Play Store. While you shop online or browse the web on Chromebook, you can multitask and enjoy your favorite Netflix show playing in the corner of your screen.
“The next time you’re watching a show in the Netflix app, just switch to another window to activate “picture-in-picture”—no set-up required.”
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Elsewhere, the company is including a new Ambient EQ display feature, which it says will adapt to any context automatically, to make things easier on the eyes.
Google says it “naturally adjusts the white balance and colour temperature of your Chromebook’s screen based on your surroundings, which makes the content on screen appear more natural.”
It won’t be available for all Chromebooks immediately though. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook, which will be up for grabs in April, has first dibs, but it’ll come to more of the affordable Chrome OS devices in the near future.
We’ll likely hear more about the next major raft of Chrome OS features when Google takes the stage at its annual I/O expo in May.
Are you a Google Chromebook convert? What would you tell other notebook users pondering a switch from Mac or PC? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
