Chrome OS 56 Released; Brings New Material Design Changes, Bug Fixes, and More

Google has updated Chrome OS 56 to stable channel for all supported devices except Asus Chromebook Flip C100PA, Google Chromebook Pixel (2015), and Acer Chromebook R11. The latest Chrome OS build, which brings along material design, bug fixes, and feature enhancements, will be rolled out to the devices in [the next "several" days.

The Chrome OS version 56.0.2924.87 update brings along Material Design to the Chrome OS shelf as well as system menu. The shelf switches from a bar shape to a circle to note when a window or app is open, 9to5Google pointed out in its report. Further, there are animations that confirm every icon click, tap on the app drawer, notifications, and status tray results, as per the report.

Apart from the Material Design, Google has added a flash component updater and made the new version of the ChromeVox screen reader default across all Chromebooks. ChromeVox screen reader essentially helps the visually impaired users in using the platform with audio prompts and keyboard.

Other features that come with the update include the switch to HTML5 as default and the "not secure" label for HTTP websites. Further, the Web Bluetooth API allows Web apps to connect with the Bluetooth low energy devices.

Recently, several leaks suggested that Microsoft is coming up with a simplified version of Windows 10, called Windows 10 Cloud, in order to fight the rising competition from Chromebooks.