Google’s ChromeOS, which powers Chromebooks, is catching up to a key productivity feature found on Windows: Snap groups. As part of the latest ChromeOS M128 update, users can now “snap” app windows to different areas of their screen, making it easier to manage multiple tasks simultaneously. This feature should automatically arrive on all Chromebooks soon, if it hasn’t already.
Snap groups allow you to arrange ChromeOS apps into specific sections of the screen, and much like Windows, you can save these layouts for future use. This helps make single-display multitasking more efficient, similar to Microsoft’s virtual workspaces.
While useful, Snap groups don’t quite rival the productivity boost of connecting a Chromebook or PC to multiple external monitors. Personally, I find snapping windows on my Windows device a good way to balance multiple apps—keeping one app on the left for primary tasks and another on the right for reference materials—eliminating the need to toggle between apps.
ChromeOS M128 also brings another interesting feature: optical character recognition (OCR) within the Camera app. With this, you can capture an image of text on a sign or document, and the app will extract the content for you. However, because most Chromebooks lack rear-facing cameras, you may need to rotate or fold your device to make the most of this feature.
This OCR capability supports 77 languages and can detect text in both horizontal and vertical orientations. It’s turned off by default, but you can enable it by going to Settings > Text detection. Other updates in M128 include simplified mic and camera permissions and a new system for storing performance data, like crash rates, for up to a year.