14 DAY TRIAL // Google has released Chrome 74 with a long list of improvements, and one of the key changes concerns the way the platform gets along with Linux apps.
Beginning with this version, Linux apps can finally output audio on ChromeOS, so Google managed to resolve one of the biggest issues with its Linux implementation in the operating system.
Google says the same release includes USB camera support for the Android Camera app, which technically means that you are able to use any USB webcam with the official Camera app on Android.
ChromeOS 74 also introduces support for new files and folders in the “My files” local root, as well as deeper integration with Google by allowing users to see their most recent apps and searchers by simply clicking the search box.
Security improvements
The new release comes with significant improvements in terms of accessibility, as this has become one of the key focuses for Google as part of the ChromeOS development. Starting with version 74, ChromeOS brings new developer options in the ChromeVox Options page, allowing devs to turn on features like logging for speech.
There are also security updates in ChromeOS 74, as per the official changelog (which you can find embedded in the box after the jump):
“The SafeSetID LSM has been added to Chrome OS and the Linux kernel. It allows system services to safely manage the users under which their programs run without requiring powerful system privileges. This improves security in the event there is a vulnerability in the system service that can be exploited,” Google explains.
ChromeOS 74 also includes a handful of tweaks that aren’t necessarily noticeable at first, as it’s the case of visual tweaks for Google Assistant. The Assistant user interface, for example, comes with a new background blur effect, which makes everything look a bit more modern overall.