Google LLC today announced the launch of two new Chromebook models and artificial intelligence features, powered by Gemini, coming to the company’s lightweight laptop’s ChromeOS.
Beginning this month all Chromebooks will now feature chat with Gemini, which provides access to Google’s most powerful AI chatbot large language model capable of answering questions, summarizing web pages and doing research. Chromebook Plus laptops will also receive new Google AI features including a new Help Me Read feature, Live Translate and audio enhancements.
The new Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, which Google says is the thinnest Chromebook yet, includes 8 gigabytes of RAM, an Intel Core 3 100U processor, 256 gigabytes of storage and a 15.6-inch screen. With 13 hours of battery life, it will last all day for work.
It’s also the first Chromebook Plus to feature the new Quick Insert key that allows users to receive contextual help where they need it instantly. Pressing the key, located on the left side of the keyboard, will bring up a context menu that will offer “Help me write” with Google AI, a list of recently opened websites, access to Google Drive and more. This feature is already available to other Chromebook users under the “Launcher Key + F” keyboard shortcut.
Google said that in the future, the key will be available on more Chromebook Plus laptops and include the ability to launch features such as creating AI-generated images and more.
In the Chromebook lineup, there is the Lenovo Chromebook Duet 11-inch, which easily converts to a tablet for note-taking using a built-in kickstand. Using palm rejection and a separately sold USI Pen 2, users can easily write and sketch on its surface. It is powered by a MediaTek Kompanio 838 processor with up to 8 gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage.
AI features coming to Chromebooks
Chromebook Plus laptops have rolled out a new feature called “Help me read” including the ability to talk to Gemini. This is the other side of “Help me write,” a feature that rolled out to Chromebooks in May, that assists users in generating text from scratch using a prompt or rewriting existing text. Help me write, on the other hand, assists users by summarizing PDFs, articles or websites, activated from a right-click. Users can also follow up with additional questions.
Live Translate is also coming to Chromebook Plus, allowing Google AI to translate anything spoken aloud from YouTube videos, Zoom calls and more on screen. The feature includes over 100 different languages.
The recorder app is now AI-powered with a transcription capability to allow users to take quick notes that label speakers and provide summaries of recorded content. Google also updated the microphone and video calling features with AI enhancements to provide better sound and video quality to reduce background noise and automatically adjust lighting, brightness and more to make users look and sound their best.
New in all Chromebooks, “Chat with Gemini” is now rolling out as an icon on the ChromeOS shelf. Users can now activate it directly instead of needing to load it up from a webpage, meaning that chats with the AI are more conveniently accessible. Users can quickly start asking about whatever comes to mind, planning trips out to eat and generating images.
Whenever a user logs back into their Chromebook they are met with “Welcome Recap,” which offers a visual overview of what they were doing the last time they accessed their device. This could include the previous document they edited, a reminder to join the next video call, calendar events, quick access to articles started on an Android or iOS phone and more.