ChromeOS 129 rolling out: Quick Insert menu, Welcome Recap, Focus, and more

Google is rolling out ChromeOS 129 with the latest Chromebook Plus features announced yesterday, including the Quick Insert menu.

The new Quick Insert key is currently exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, with more devices getting it next year. For existing Chromebooks, there’s a Launcher key + F shortcut to access the menu on ChromeOS 129. 

It lets you access Help me write, emoji and GIFs (with a dedicated bar at the top), browsing history to “add links without searching, copying, and pasting between windows,” and search Google Drive and local files. Other tools let you perform calculations, convert units of measure, add specific dates, and even enable caps lock.

On Chromebook Plus, Live Captions now feature Live Translate when in a video calling, watching YouTube, and other videos. Over 100 languages are supported. 

Other Chromebook Plus features like Recorder are coming in ChromeOS 130 at the end of this month.

All users will see a “Welcome Recap” upon startup to “open your previous windows and apps.” This can be disabled from Settings > System preferences. You also get a bottom row with cards for weather, upcoming calendar events, Drive file suggestions, and pages from your phone/other devices. These suggestions are also available in the zoomed-out Overview mode.

In Quick Settings, you’ll find a new “Focus” Tile that turns on Do Not Disturb for a set period. It shows Google Tasks to let you select a list item, while you can play Focus sounds or a calming YouTube Music playlist.

Other new features in ChromeOS 129:

• The PIN you set can now be used “in all authentication surfaces across ChromeOS.”
• The Settings app is getting the ability to control display and keyboard brightness, with the ability to “turn the ambient light sensor on or off as needed.” We’re not yet seeing this live.
• “This release aims to deliver a high-quality Welcome Experience by letting users know their peripheral is successfully connected and inviting them to configure it and make the most of it.”
• “The Select-to-Speak keyboard shortcut (Search + s) now works when it is first pressed. You no longer need to enable it in Settings first. A dialog displays confirming that you want to turn on select to speak the first time you press the keyboard shortcut.”