Google is Developing a "Touch-Friendly" Launcher for Chromebooks

As more and more Chromebooks are being released with touchscreens, Google is going to need to revamp Chrome OS to make it more touch-friendly. Thanks to François Beaufort, a video on YouTube shows a touch-friendly version of a Chromebook launcher.

When Google announced touchscreen Chromebook devices, they were quick to announce two things. All new Chromebooks (2017 and forward) would be compatible to download Android apps on the Play Store and a Hybrid Mode, making icons more spaced out so it would be easier for users launch an app by touchscreen. Even with Hybrid Mode enabled, you can notice that Chrome OS would be easier to move around with a mouse and a keyboard. Now since Chromebooks are replacing tablets, it’s a perfect time for Google to revamp its launcher for touchscreen devices.

According to the video, Chrome OS is still going to have a taskbar for consumers to navigate with a mouse and keyboard, but when you swipe up, it reveals a Android like app drawer. One swipe opens the first row of apps called “Recommended Apps” and another swipe opens the apps installed on the device itself. You can also access Google from the app drawer and it would have the same functionality as the Google search bar on Android where you can search for apps, the device, and Google itself.

Right now the new launcher is only available in the Canary version of Chrome OS, the developer preview version of the operating system, so it’s unstable and might crash on Chromebooks right now.