ChromeOS 127 is rolling out now to Chromebooks, introducing a number of small but important changes aimed at improving accessibility options and delivering a productivity boost. While it may not be the most flashy update, it’s always good to see a company continually upgrading its accessibility options.
Below we’ve listed the most interesting changes coming to your Chromebook in the coming weeks.
We’ll start with one of our favorite upgrades in ChromeOS 127, improved PDF accessibility in the Chromebook Gallery app. This comes courtesy of an AI-powered Optical Character Recognition (OCR) reader that makes PDFs more accessible for low-vision or blind users. Essentially, this feature organizes the PDF in a smart way to make it easier for users to understand via ChromeVox, the built-in screen reader for Chromebooks.
You’ll also notice a new feature called Read Aloud in Chrome’s Reader Mode. As the name suggests, this feature will read content out loud to the user in the web browser. This is helpful for users with visual impairments and those who need help understanding long articles.
Personally, this would be perfect for long nights of research where I need to read large chunks of text and take notes at the same time, or just to more easily listen to my favorite articles or stories while multitasking.
Speaking of productivity boosts, the Gallery app got another update that lets you delete or reorder pages from your PDF documents using keyboard and mouse shortcuts. Chromebook users with Bluetooth headsets should note that ChromeOS 127 finally adds support for call control buttons on compatible hardware — so that’s great news, assuming your headset has the capability.
Finally, Chromebook users will no doubt be happy to hear that the Firmware Update App has been tweaked to provide clearer instructions for updating their peripherals. Additionally, the Classroom Glanceables widget lets you quickly view and access your upcoming class assignments with just one click on your Chromebook’s home screen.
Via Chrome unpacked