Chrome OS 54 Starts Rolling Out With Quick View Feature and UI Tweaks

Soon after Chrome 54 was made available for Windows, Mac and Linux users, Chrome OS 54 has now moved to the stable channel. Chrome OS 54 introduces some bug fixes, security updates, UI tweaks and new features like Quick View.

The Chrome OS stable channel has been updated to 54.0.2840.79, and Chrome OS and Chromebook users will be receiving it in the next few days. While most of the Chromebooks will receive the update, HP Chromebook 13 G1, Acer Chromebook 14 for Work, and Thinkpad 13 Chromebook have been mysteriously left out.

The most notable addition is the new Quick View feature available in the File app to preview files. All you need to do is highlight a file, and then press the space bar to get a generic preview. For example, if you 'Quick View' an image file, a small preview along with size and file type information pops up on the screen.

Alt+Tab is a nifty shortcut often used to switch between windows. With Chrome OS 54, Google has added a new animation in the centre that shows a preview (of sorts) of all the open tabs, and lets you select exactly which tab you intend to switch to. Other changes include a new opt-in setting to show Input Method on shelf, a read only policy for external USB/SD storage devices, and general UI improvements across platform. As mentioned, Chrome 54 is already available to desktop and even Android users.