You can click on any date to see whatever Google Calendar events you have that day, and you can click any of those events to open it in Google Calendar in a Chrome window. And while clicking on the time still opens the Quick settings panel as before, clicking the date opens a new interactive Calendar pane. In Chrome OS 104, the date and time display are now separated. (A previous update added the ability to change where screen captures are stored.) Chrome OS has always provided a way to take screenshots, but now the integrated screen capture utility supports voice and video recording too. (I’m not seeing photos yet for some reason.) With Chrome OS 104, you can now see recent photos in Phone Hub along with other phone functionality like Enable hotspot, Silence phone, Locate phone, and Recent Chrome tabs. The Chrome OS Phone Hub is a bit like Windows 11’s Phone Link except that its integrated into the Shelf (Chrome OS’s Taskbar) and appears as a small flyout. It’s also still just a dumb grid of icons. Chrome OS’s version of the Start menu finally moves from an unwieldy full-screen experience back to a window or pane, and it’s very much like the Windows 11 Start menu in that it has rounded corners and is floating, but it’s over on the left as in Windows 10. That’s too bad, and the new look is very nice. But many elements, like windows still have squared off edges. Speaking of inconsistent, those UI elements that are impacted by the new themes now feature rounded corners like we see in Windows 11.

Also, a new Wallpaper & style app helps you switch between the Light and Dark themes and customize your wallpaper. So it’s a bit like how this works in Windows 10/11, meaning it’s inconsistent but better than nothing. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t killed off the glaring and stark white look that dominated Chrome OS before instead, many windows are still white in Light mode. This works exactly as expected, in that it can be toggled between the two modes as needed and can work automatically on a schedule. Anyway, based on what I see, what the Explore app does explain, and a few third-party blog posts, here are what I believe to be the biggest new features in Chrome OS 104.ĭark and light themes.

Windows 10 themes icons google chromium