Chrome OS 94 has started rolling out to stable. I know, it's unusual for an update to roll out on a Thursday, but that's probably because of the upcoming change in Google's release timeline: There won't be a Chrome OS 95. Highlighted changes in today's release should include better voices when using select-to-speak, document scanning support in the camera app, and some tweaks to Chrome OS's virtual desks, plus a few smaller tweaks/flags developers might enjoy.

Sadly, AP's Kent Duke is busy with his coursework, so our Chrome OS fans will have to put up with my commentary this time.

Better video quality in the native recorder

We first spotted the change back in July, but Chrome's built-in screen recorder will now be able to record at a higher resolution and quality. The one trade-off is understandably increased storage size for that video — it's probably worth it.

Better voice quality for select-to-speak

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Google's announcing new, more "human sounding" voices for Select to speak. For those that rely on the accessibility feature, that means a more realistic tone and sound when Chromebooks read content to them.

Virtual desks tweaks

Google's gradually expanding the rollout of the "bento bar" experiment on Chrome OS 94 for users that use the virtual desks feature often. (The rollout started with 93, but it looks like it's expanding according to commits.) As a result, it won't be present for everyone, but the new feature makes it so that your virtual desktops are persistently visible as part of a new bar at the top of your screen. The "hide deskbar" option should also now persist after reboots.

The "move to another window" option for managing tabs also now includes the name of the desk a given window appears in and groups them together.

Document scanning in the camera app

Chrome OS document scanning

Spotted in July, Chrome OS 94 should debut a document scanning feature for the built-in Chrome OS Camera app. Sure, you could use an Android app for the same feature, but now it's all built right into the native camera app itself, though there is at least one catch: The feature may be limited to certain devices.

Smaller changes

As usual, there are many smaller features we've followed that didn't merit an announcement from Google but which should be live in Chrome OS 94 when it lands.

  • Input noise cancellation is now enabled by default: The feature, worked on since May and which debuted on Chrome OS 92, will now be turned on by default. Without any finagling (and assuming you have supported hardware), your cries of terror or pleasure in video calls and meetings will sound better with Chrome OS 94.
  • Flags flags flags flags. Chrome OS 94 debuts a bunch of new flags for features in testing, including new multipaste suggestions and a new look for stylus writing in the virtual keyboard, a revamped Bluetooth settings page, launcher app sorting, and one for HTTPS-first mode. There's a flag to install Debian Bullseye in Crostini, another flag for disabling Chrome apps, and one for enabling FuseBox services. That Fast Pair feature we spotted before even has a flag now, though it isn't clear if it's fully functional yet — it wasn't last month. And all this is merely the tip of the Chrome OS 94 flag iceberg.
  • Restore Crostini backups from "shared with me" Drive folders: Crostini users that take advantage of Drive for backups will be able to restore those backups now from the "shared with me" Drive folder/directory.

The update has started rolling out around 5:15 PM (ET) this afternoon for the majority of the currently supported crop of devices.

Again, this is the last release before Google switches to its new, more aggressive, four-week Chrome OS release schedule, skipping Chrome OS 95. The currently published schedule indicates that (barring any issues) we will get Chrome OS 96 on November 30th. Updates after that should be every four weeks, though it looks like Google may have padded the schedule for Chrome OS 97 slightly, probably as a result of the end-of-year holiday season.

If you don't like change or you're an admin that doesn't have time to address issues that might land with a faster release schedule, a new Extended Stable option will also be available soon.