When ChromeOS was first released, it was considered nothing more than an operating system built around a web browser. During those early iterations, there wasn’t much more you could do with the operating system than use a web browser.
Today, ChromeOS is much better. You can install Linux and Android apps, multitask, add printers, connect to remote shares, and much more. But when you compare ChromeOS to MacOS, you can see where the operating system falls short.
Also: The best Chromebooks you can buy
I’ve created five ways ChromeOS could evolve to rival Apple’s operating system. Curious? Keep reading.
1. Better multimedia support
It’s pretty well known that out of all the operating systems on the market, MacOS is undoubtedly the champion when it comes to handling multimedia. There isn’t a single file type that MacOS can’t open, and when it does, it plays that media perfectly.
Plus: 5 reasons why Chromebooks are the perfect laptop for most people
ChromeOS? Not so much. In fact, ChromeOS has a hard time playing any media that can’t be opened in a browser. For ChromeOS to be taken seriously, this problem must change. The operating system requires dedicated built-in applications that do not get trapped inside the browser and open video and audio files. ChromeOS should also be able to open files remotely and locally.
It can be frustrating when you download a media file on a Chromebook and discover that it can only be opened in the web browser. That issue may be okay for some files, but Chrome isn’t always the best at handling higher resolution video and audio. For users who prefer dedicated applications, better multimedia support should be considered essential.
2. Easy installation of third-party browsers
I’m not a big fan of Chrome; It’s not even in my top five web browsers: Arc, Opera, Firefox, Safari, Brave (in that order). If you are smart enough, you can enable Linux support in ChromeOS and install Firefox. But that approach doesn’t always work as expected. You can also go the Android app route. But again, you will find that those browsers do not work well.
I would love for ChromeOS to be able to install any of the Chromium-based web browsers as native apps. That capability would mean you could install Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, Brave, Arc, Ungoogled Chromium, and more. Then you wouldn’t have to worry so much about the endless list of zero-day vulnerabilities found in Chrome.
3. Better hardware
Let’s face it, a comparison between Apple hardware and Chromebooks isn’t fair. Apple laptops are light years ahead of Chromebooks in almost every way imaginable. Of course, there are some Chromebooks that come close to the quality of MacBooks, like the HP Dragonfly.
Also: I tried Google’s new Chromebook Plus and the generative AI features blew me away.
However, all other Chromebooks pale in comparison. At one point, Google had the Pixel Chromebook, which was stellar. Unfortunately, the Pixel Chromebook didn’t last long. Google decided to reduce the quality of its in-house Chromebook and eventually stopped manufacturing it entirely.
Buying a Chromebook today is a make or break proposition. You might get a decent screen but a less-than-adequate keyboard. You may get a good trackpad but a tinny sound. The last Chromebook I owned that was solid across the board was the 2015 Chromebook Pixel; that device was like the Ferrari of Chromebooks at the time.
4. Better printer support
You can connect your Chromebook to a printer if you know what you’re doing. However, it is not always easy. You may need to know your printer’s IP address or share it from another machine. Even when you connect your printer, it may not always work as expected. I’ve had printers randomly disappear from Chromebooks or stop working (although they work on other machines on the network). Google needs to fix this problem.
I realize that printers are often a pain. I worked as a remote support engineer for a company and I dealt with printers because that was the most common problem. However, the relationship between Chromebooks and printers has always been frustrating. Chromebooks need better connection and printer discovery tools.
5. Seamless integration with Android
The only thing that never ceases to surprise me is the poor integration between Android and ChromeOS. This connection should be a no-brainer for Google. But, for some reason, those two operating systems don’t always work well together.
When your Android phone gets close to your Chromebook, magic should happen. Contacts should be synced, notifications should be available on both devices, and certain directories should be automatically mounted and accessible from either operating system. Google could take this integration a step further and make it possible to connect your Android phone to your Chromebook as a single, powerful operating system. But no, Google seems happy with the limited integration between the two.
Plus: I revived three old computers with ChromeOS Flex, and you can too
For Chromebooks to catch up to MacOS, Google should focus on the total approach rather than individual features.
I know most of the things I suggest won’t come true anytime soon, but it would be great if Google considered these changes for ChromeOS. If the tech giant integrated a couple of these features, the operating system would be exponentially better than it already is.
Don’t get me wrong, I like ChromeOS. It’s simple, fast, and efficient. I tried to buy my wife a MacBook, but she makes it clear that she prefers ChromeOS. So, kudos to Google for creating such an effective platform. However, that success doesn’t mean the tech company can’t improve the operating system.
