Weekly Digest From Chrome Unboxed

View this email in your browser Bard now responds in real time instead of making you wait, can also summarize emails better Contents Google is moving rather quickly with its artificial intelligence initiatives, and it’s evident every time I put my fingers on the keyboard. I’d say it’s moving too quickly, but it continues to assure us that it’s being as responsible as possible with AI like Bard and the mysterious Gemini as it can. Time will […] Read More The Chrome Cast 245: A big giveaway and the final Chromebook Plus unboxing This week on The Chrome Cast, we begin by talking about our latest giveaway: 3 Lenovo Chromebook Slim 3i Chromebooks! While these devices don’t have Chromebook Plus on the lid, they are Chromebook Plus through-and-through. As my favorite Chromebook Plus model thus far (and the first I plan to review), I’m beyond excited to be […] Read More Acer Chromebook Plus 514 unboxing: we now have every new Chromebook Plus model [VIDEO] Contents We finally have the final piece of the Chromebook Plus hardware puzzle in the house, folks! When we were in New York for the event, I figured we’d end up with all the new models, so I didn’t spend a ton of time with the devices on display. And for some reason, this particular […] Read More How to change the default search engine on your Chromebook and why you may want to Contents While I know it sounds ironic that one would use a “Google” Chromebook and not want to search Google, it’s a reality. Aside from incremental steps toward privacy, you may be interested in DuckDuckGo as a default Search provider on your laptop, or you just have a personal preference for Bing, Yahoo! or something […] Read More [Updated] How to write a novel using your Chromebook for National Novel Writing Month Contents Update: October 27, 2023 at 11:15 AM – With National Novel Writing Month just around the corner for the new year, I’ve gone ahead and added some new resources to this massive and ever-growing list! I hope you enjoy. Be sure to drop a comment with your favorite tools and resources that I may […] Read More The Pixel Tablet is getting a few Nest Hub Max features it should've launched with Contents The Pixel Tablet has been a bit of a head-scratcher since its debut. There are things to like about it for sure, but it’s overall utility has never been fully realized; and overall, it tends to feel like Google pushed this device out the door a bit faster than they should have. With few […] Read More Google Photos upcoming 'Photos stacks' feature to lump similar shots together, helping you declutter Contents Spotted by AssembleDebug on X/Twitter, Google apparently has a new feature termed “Photo Stack” in the works, and it could be the key to decluttering the massive collection of Google Photos you’ve accumulated over the years. At the very least, you could sift through them easier or assist you in eliminating shots that are […] Read More More 'Flexor' details clarify possible ChromeOS Flex solution for aging Chromebooks Contents Since detailing the our original ‘Flexor’ discovery a couple of weeks ago, there has been a bit of discussion that had me wondering if we got this all right or not. Don’t get me wrong: ‘Flexor’ is definitely still a sizeable mystery and one that may or may not ever become a reality. But […] Read More Google is adding generative AI to Keep notes with upcoming 'Magic Lists' feature Contents If you’re at all familiar with Generative AI and Google’s latest efforts with Bard, Gemini, and more, you’ll know it’s going all in on the idea. No, I mean it’s truly ALL in. Now, thanks to an APK insights report by 9to5Ggoogle, we can see early hints that the tech giant is adding a […] Read More Why the HP Dragonfly Pro is still the absolute King of Chromebooks Contents There have been many different inflection points along the way in the Chromebook story. I think back to many different moments over the years that define the overall experience, and the odd, almost-questionable hardware comes to mind over and over again as this product segment has evolved and grown. These inflection points don’t always […] Read More Google Keep is retroactively adding text formatting to your old notes Contents Google Keep hasn’t gotten many updates since it launched almost a decade ago. When the updates do roll in, they’re usually not seemingly that significant, yet they do impact the core user experience quite a bit. However, there is one feature note takers have been clamoring for, and it’s finally arrived – text formatting […] Read More HP Chromebook Plus x360: don't buy the wrong one Contents We knew when this Chromebook Plus stuff started actually rolling out that there would be some overlap with the newly-announced, branded Chromebook Plus models. We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; there was never a good time for Google to pull off the Band-Aid in introducing this new Chromebook segment. And right […] Read More Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5: where are the ChromeOS updates? Contents Of all the Chromebooks we talk about around here, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 5 is likely the fan favorite. I don’t have hard data to back me up on that, but I know that our posts and deal announcements for that Chromebook drive more interest than just about anything else we discuss from a […] Read More It looks like nearly all Chromebooks are finally on ChromeOS 118 Just a few days ago, we discussed the fact that ChromeOS 118 had rolled out, but was still missing on a collection of devices across the board. While it’s not too odd to see device families left out of updates for an extended period, this was a bit different. There were multiple devices, new and […] Read More Here are 5 great ways to save battery on your Chromebook Contents Why it matters With all of the incredible technological advancements we have these days, it’s a wonder how device battery is still one of the greatest struggles. I dream of a day when we have graphene batteries in all of our devices since they last five times longer than lithium-ion batteries, but we’re not […] Read More New Chromebook Plus deals can save you up to $200 right now Contents While I generally don’t love lumping deals together in one spot because I don’t want any of you to miss out on any chance at savings due to low visibility, this particular group of Chromebooks being on sale makes for an exception to that rule. Right now, between Best Buy and Lenovo, 6 of […] Read More Win one of 3 fantastic Lenovo Slim 3i Chromebooks With the holiday season around the corner, we thought it might be a good time to give back to our readers; so we’re excited to announce that our next giveaway is a device that we highly recommend – the Lenovo Slim 3i Chromebook! And we’re not just giving away one of them, we have 3 […] Read More Google Photos will let you create AI-drive "reels" from your memories with just a few taps Contents In an update post on X today, Google Photos announced a new way to create videos, and yes, you guessed it, it’s driven by artificial intelligence. The company says it’s focused on letting you automate video highlight creation with ease and personalization and just a few taps. This means that rapid generation of precious […] Read More Last chance to snag this non-branded ASUS Chromebook Plus for $199 off The days of seeing the older, non-branded Chromebook Plus models on sale may be coming to an end. Just a few days ago, the HP Chromebook x360 14c that is basically the same as the Chromebook Plus version (the Plus version does have double the storage at 256GB) not only went on sale over at […] Read More Android 13 is beginning to arrive on Chromebooks, but only for a few right now Contents Found all the way back in February of this year, we’re finally beginning to see the roll out of Android 13 for some Chromebooks. With ChromeOS 118 arriving last week, it seems a handful of boards now have Android 13 moving forward. Without flags or any special settings, we’ve successfully tested quite a few […] Read More How to switch your Chrome browser's Side Panel to the left and why you may want to Contents Love it or hate it, Google’s Side Panel is chock-full of great content, because, well, it’s your content! Your bookmarks, history, Reading list items you’ve saved for later, Chrome customization, and more all reside in the latest obsession created by the tech giant. At first, it was fairly rudimentary, and didn’t even let you […] Read More Accessibility: Your Chromebook will soon let you control the mouse and keyboard with your face Contents Well, this is a weird article. I never thought I’d be talking about Face Tracking and Google in a somewhat positive light. However, ChromeOS is currently implementing exactly that as a part of its ongoing AI improvements. Yes, you heard me right – your Chromebook will soon track your face, but not for the […] Read More If you are still missing ChromeOS 118, you aren't alone Contents Last week, we marked a big change in the ChromeOS landscape with the arrival of ChromeOS 118. As our favorite operating system sees updates with bug fixes and new features every 4 weeks at this point, the announcement of another update isn’t huge news most times. But ChromeOS 118 was a special and monumental […] Read More How to group your Gmail messages by 'today', 'yesterday', 'Last Week', and more like Inbox by Google Contents Do you remember Inbox by Google? Do you miss it as much as I do? Sure, Google gave us many of the features the service had, but we’re still waiting very impatiently for the ‘Bundles’ feature to come around as I think they’ve promised. Gmail is extensible, but… Luckily, Chrome extensions like Simplify Gmail […] Read More How to use your Chromebook's Dictation tool to save yourself hours of typing Contents Remember back in the day when physical computer software boxes lined the shelves of Best Buy, Target, and even Circuit City? Yeah, I remember Circuit City. There was one box in particular that I always wanted to buy, but could never afford. It was the one software that made me believe that technology could […] Read More A closer look at ChromeOS 118 and new Chromebook Plus features [VIDEO] Contents ChromeOS 118 began its roll-out this week and with it came a nice handful of Chromebook Plus features for the entire list of devices that meet those Chromebook Plus specifications. For those non-Plus devices, the updates aren’t much to talk about this time around and this ChromeOS 118 release was clearly aimed at getting […] Read More Google takes an 'iconic' step toward making Gmail more accessible and glanceable Contents Navigating Gmail on the web with your Chromebook just got a bit easier, thanks to the new icons Google is adding to its overflow menu. Previously, the only options in the three dots ‘more’ options menu on an email you’d see were ‘Reply’ and ‘Forward’. Now, every action in that menu is now accompanied […] Read More The Chrome Cast 244: a new Samsung Chromebook Plus may be on the way This week on The Chrome Cast, we discuss the potential for a new Chromebook Plus model that could be on the way from Samsung. From the heights of the Samsung Chromebook Plus/Pro and Galaxy Chromebook to the oddly-named and poorly-executed devices like the Galaxy Chromebook Go and Galaxy Chromebook 2 360, Samsung has been on […] Read More How to clear the cache on your Chromebook and Google Play apps Contents Believe it or not, it’s the little things that count. When you have a lot of apps and web apps on your Chromebook, you’d be tempted to think that deleting these would speed up your laptop, but you may not need to resort to such drastic measures to squeeze out a bit more optimization. […] Read More This handy addition to Google Messages is quietly brilliant Google Messages is constantly being worked on now that Google has decided to go all-in and made it their messenger of choice. There’s still a long road ahead to get people to use it for more than just a glorified text message client, but as Google continues to add more and more cool, thoughtful features, […] 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. 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