Weekly Digest From Chrome Unboxed

View this email in your browser The Chrome Cast 224: the Pixel Tablet may have already missed its prime launch window This week on The Chrome Cast, we spend much of our time discussing Google’s upcoming hardware. Where the latest leaks of the Pixel Fold tell us to expect Google’s first folding phone at Google I/O 2023, the story feels a bit less celebrative for the upcoming Pixel Tablet. With a fun, innovative feature that largely […] Read More Google's Bard AI can now help you code that project idea you've been putting off for years Google’s Bard AI is finally capable of tackling programming tasks for software and development – something it’s completely foregone until now. While initially considered a more fledgling AI compared to ChatGPT and Bing AI, Google’s slow and steady approach to artificial intelligence development has focused on safety and usefulness across all its products rather than […] Read More Chromebook Perks: Get 3 months of Storyblocks for LumaFusion for free Earlier this year, the long-awaited release of the Lumafusion video editor for ChromeOS finally arrived. With it came the ability for hobbyists and full-time creators alike to finally produce professional level video content without the need for a Mac or PC. Not only is Lumafusion a powerful full-features multi-track editor, it only costs $29.99 for […] Read More Unboxing the ASUS Chromebox 5 with wireless charging built in [VIDEO] Around Chrome Unboxed, we don’t do a whole lot of content around Chromeboxes. It’s understandable, right? Chromeboxes are the simplest manifestation of ChromeOS hardware, putting the necessary bits to run the OS in a box and letting the user ultimately choose what peripherals go with it. With no screen, no keyboard, no trackpad, no hinges […] Read More Google Assistant will finally shut up and do what it's told instead of excessively narrating itself Besides being dumber than a box of rocks lately, Google Assistant is pretty alright with the basics – turning your smart devices on and off, and answering basic questions (sometimes). Recently, the team responsible for developing and maintaining it was sent to work on Bard AI, the company’s new golden child, and the once stellar […] Read More Google Fi is now 'Google Fi Wireless', gets a new app, logo, and free smartwatch plan connectivity Google Fi has officially rebranded to “Google Fi Wireless,” and with this new name comes some exciting new features, a new app design and layout, and a brand new logo. When Google first launched its phone subscription service, it was called “Project Fi.” However, it didn’t take long for it to drop the “Project” and […] Read More Android Smart Lock to become 'Extend Unlock', will differentiate wearables from other methods Android’s Smart Lock, a feature that automatically unlocks your device under certain trusted conditions, is undergoing a significant change. For some strange reason, the long-standing feature is not only being renamed but also seems to be splitting into two distinct parts! I have some thoughts on this which I’ll share below. The rebrand: Extend Unlock […] Read More Premium Spotlight: Top 5 Chromebook deals of the week And…. we’re back. Well, I’m back and I come bearing gifts of good tidings and sweet discounts on some great ChromeOS hardware. This week, I have deals on some of the best premium devices on the consumer market and you stand to save as much as $200 on one of these awesome, Chrome Unboxed recommended […] Read More HP Dragonfly Pro: The Chromebook you've been waiting for…back in stock! While some tech outlets seem to have it out for the Dragonfly Pro Chromebook, we are still of the mindset that HP has created the closest thing to perfection that we’ve ever seen in the ChromeOS space. The ultra-bright 14-inch 2560×1600 display cranks out an eye-searing 1200 nits of brightness and the fit and finish […] Read More Why Google's Pixel Tablet might be too little, too late It was a solid year ago that Google made rumors of a Pixel Tablet official as they took the stage at I/O 2022 with a whole slew of new hardware to show the world. It was a sneak peek, sure, but there was no reality where I would’ve expected it to take them over a […] Read More Acer unveils 13th Gen Raptor Lake Chromebook Spin 714 Last week, CTL announced the company’s latest Chromebox and it made headlines as the first-ever 13th Gen Intel Raptor Lake ChromeOS device to officially hit the market. With quite a few Raptor Lake hardware in development, we knew that it wouldn’t be long before more ChromeOS devices carrying the latest CPUs from Intel would begin […] Read More You can now use your Google Play Points toward merchandise, DoorDash, Instacart, and more Exciting news for anyone who collects their weekly Google Play Points! In addition to being able to spend your points as a direct payment option in the Play Store, Google just announced in a Keyword Blog post that it’s adding new ways to gain value once you’ve accumulated enough and hope to try something outside […] Read More Google Meet to let you minimize distractions by turning off video feeds from other participants Google Meet is getting a new feature that will let you turn off the video feed from other participants during a call. This can be a great way to cut distractions visually and focus on just the presenter, but also a nice way to avoid destroying any mobile data cap you may have if you’re […] Read More Pixel Fold availability date, weight, and price confirmed by credible new source As we rapidly approach Google I/O 2023, it’s not surprising that more details about some of the hardware we expect at the event are continuing to leak out. As a recap, we fully expect to see the Pixel 7a, Pixel Tablet (and it’s optional smart speaker stand), and Pixel Fold all arrive on May 10th […] Read More The Chrome Cast 223: An open discussion about Generative AI For this episode of The Chrome Cast, we decided to try something a bit different (and there’s a bit of a twist ending to it, too). Instead of taking on the week’s news and discussing it, we wanted to tackle a particular content area, and there’s none more interesting and groundbreaking than the field of […] Read More Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise is getting a Pokémon Go-style game for the real world Niantic, the creator of the massively popular Pokémon Go location-based game that got everyone and their mom to walk around in the real world for several years, is partnering with Capcom to develop a new title called Monster Hunter Now. The game will be a “real-world hunting action” role-playing game for phones and will combine […] Read More If you are looking for ChromeOS 112 on your Chromebook, you aren't alone Since the inception of the 4-week Chrome and ChromeOS update cycles, we’ve not seen too many major delays when new versions arrive. There are a couple reasons for this: first, with 4-week updates, there are smaller changes from one version to the next; and second, if you are a bit late (like we are right […] Read More Google's 'Now Playing' feature for Pixel phones to give deeper insights into the songs you hear The ‘Now Playing’ feature on your Pixel phone is one of those niceties that you forget about 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time when you’re at a restaurant and someone asks what song you think this is and you glance over at your phone and say “hehe, this is Happy by […] Read More ChromeOS Global Media Controls Material You updates are coming together nicely The ChromeOS Global Media Controls have largely been marked by small changes along the way as ChromeOS has developed. At the end of the day, if you use this beneficial little part of the ChromeOS shelf, you likely know that you can quickly and easily control any media currently playing on your Chromebook from this […] Read More This deal on the 8GB Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 is insane My absolute favorite ChromeOS tablet of all time is hands-down Lenovo’s Chromebook Duet 5. The OLED-toting detachable is even more desirable when you can find it on sale which seems to happen quite a bit over at Best Buy. Even right now, you can pick up the Snapdragon-powered Chromebook at a $100 discount which is […] Read More After 25 years, Google is building a new search engine, and it's powered by artificial intelligence During a recent interview with 60 Minutes, Google and Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, confirmed that the company is developing a new AI-powered search engine to outpace Microsoft and OpenAI. In the interview, he was asked if by embracing Bard and other AI roadmaps, he was killing his cash cow. Pichai stated in response that while […] Read More This Ryzen-powered Acer Chromebook Spin is $250 off today only Looking for a quasi-flagship convertible Chromebook that’s easy on the wallet? Best Buy’s Deal of the Day could be exactly what you’re looking for and it can save you a boat load of money. Released last May, the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 was one of the first devices to market equipped with AMD’s Ryzen 5000C […] Read More How to effortlessly manage multiple accounts with tabs in the Gmail PWA Of the messaging and productivity apps I keep open on my desktop on any given day, there’s no question that Gmail is at the top of the priority list. Between personal and work messages, I get a lot of email and I like trying my best to keep it sorted and reined in as much […] Read More How-to use Android's Nearby Share with your Mac If there is one thing I do envy about Apple’s ecosystem, it is the synergy between the company’s various pieces of hardware. Moving between your Mac, iPhone and iPad has become a refined process that is all but unparalleled by any other hardware/software combo. (See? I can say nice things about Apple.) Now, Google has […] Read More Chrome is updating its security icon with a new design that's meant to better reflect user control Google is abandoning its long-held tradition of using a padlock security icon and replacing it with a toggle and slider circle in ChromeOS Canary 114 in LaCrOS, as first noticed by C2 Productions on Twitter. I believe the new “Security Icon” is designed to better reflect a user’s control over their own privacy and data. […] Read More Google Chat for Chromebooks has one frustrating limitation: Sharing I’ve spoken a lot about Google Chat Spaces this week. From its Material You redesign to it being the spiritual successor to Google+ and Google Currents. Back when Google first replaced the Android app on Chromebooks with a progressive web app (PWA) in the Google Play Store, I was initially excited since I believe PWAs […] Read More CTL launches next-gen Chomebox CBX3 with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 The ChromeOS mini PC, a.k.a. Chromebox may still be a very niche device but there’s no denying the appeal of a cost-effective, powerful, and upgrade-capable desktop that runs our favorite operating system. While not portable like a Chromebook, the small desktop form-factor of the Chromebox is perfect for a wide array of applications including home […] Read More Walmart listing shows off the follow-up to their excellent, affordable Google TV streamer Back when the Chromecast with Google TV first debuted, there was an almost-immediate competitor that rose up to challenge it. Walmart’s in-house Onn. Android TV Streaming Box (super-cool name, right?) took us by surprise and in my house, at least, it became a go-to solution for TVs not found in our living room. It wasn’t […] Read More Don't miss your chance to win a free Samsung Galaxy Chromebook from Chrome Unboxed! We…Are…So…CLOSE!!!! Thanks to all you wonderfully amazing people, we are on the cusp of reaching a milestone 250,000 subscribers on the Chrome Unboxed YouTube channel. To celebrate, we’re doing what we love to do and giving away stuff. One lucky winner will get their hands on a shiny, new Samsung Galaxy Chromebook 360 2. We […] Read More Google Chat is getting the Material You redesign it so desperately needed Google has been busy refreshing its suite of Workspace apps this year, and now it’s Chat’s turn. The app will be getting a new look based on Google’s Material You design. This will bring several changes (pictured below), including updated fonts, colors, and layouts, making it more consistent with the company’s other products like Gmail […] Read More Join our Patreon community and get access to things like behind-the-scenes footage, early access to videos, private Discord server access, an ad-free experience on the mobile and desktop versions of the website, your name listed on all our YouTube videos, and monthly live stream Q&A. CLICK HERE to be a part of our community.  Copyright © 2023 Unboxed Media, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Unboxed Media 111 W Dixie Ave Ste 200 Elizabethtown, KY 42701-1410 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.