Chrome Os is one of Google’s efforts to combat Windows, but the Operating System is lacking a decent touch experience. Google has decided to make some changes that will come in the next update.

The changes were shown in a recent video posted on the web. The video shows a Chrome OS with a Redesigned desktop that introduces an Android-like app drawer along with a search bar.

The new features sit on the traditional taskbar, so folks using a Chromebook with keyboard and mouse won’t experience any noticeable changes. However, for those using a Google Chromebook with a touchscreen, it’s now possible to enter directly into the Google search box.

By swiping up, users can gain access to the app drawer with ease. Furthermore, there’s a dock with up to five suggested apps, which makes your favorite apps quicker to launch.

For those who are wondering, the new design is now available via Chrome OS “canary” channel, which is not for everyone. It’s a pre-beta release channel that is home to buggy software that doesn’t always work as intended.

What does this mean?

Users can try out Chrome OS from the pre-beta release channel, but they should know to install it on a test machine instead of a device regularly used for work. If you do not have a test system, it’ll be smart to wait until Google has finished polishing the operating system.

This version of Chrome OS could be the largest and most important in a long while when it comes down to touchscreen support.

To prove the company is serious about supporting touchscreens with Chrome OS, Google added a hybrid mode feature to the OS to make buttons easier to press with fingers.

Despite these new changes, the Google OS is still a great option for mouse and keyboard users. Not to mention, with Android apps slowly finding their way to the Google Store, the platform could effectively compete directly with the likes of Windows and Mac OSX.

Better Chrome OS products in the future

The operating system was never designed with touch in mind, but that didn’t stop Samsung and Acer from releasing devices with touchscreen capabilities. The feature wasn’t perfect, but with this upcoming update, Microsoft and Apple should have reasons to worry in the long term.

Chrome OS has slowly grown into own and is currently one of the most impressive operating systems on the market.

It’s lightweight, so it doesn’t use a lot of resources, and devices powered by it are usually affordable.

Furthermore, with Android apps coming to the platform for the first time, one can summarize that Google plans to merge both operating systems into a single powerhouse, and that’s where the problem for competitors will truly begin.
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