Chromebook Plus now includes Google One AI Premium for a year

Google announced Chromebook Plus in October, and the next wave of software features (both AI and nice additions to ChromeOS’ quality of life) and hardware are here. The highlight is how when you buy Chromebook Plus you get 12 months of Google One AI Premium for free, while Plus hardware now starts at $349 (was $399).

More Google AI features

The new AI features, which coincide with ChromeOS 125, start with the ability to generate images. When videoconferencing with an app, you can create a custom background by opening the microphone/camera control pod in the shelf. “Image” joins the blur options with one of eight themes, such as Stylish Office, Terrain and Dreamscapes. Each has a prompt you can customize, such as “A [valley] with a glowing one [river]” for Glowscapes. Each has several predefined options, while there is also a random ‘Inspire Me’ button.

Generative wallpapers for your wallpaper work the same way: right-click on the desktop > Set Wallpaper & Style > Wallpaper > Create with AI.

Just like on desktop Chrome, you can invoke Help Me Write by right-clicking in most text fields to enter a prompt. If you select text you’ve already written, right-clicking will reveal a Rewrite box where your options are Reword, Emojify, Shorten, Elaborate, and Formalize. You also have the option to enter a prompt such as “make it more confident.”

Finally, the Google Photos app offers a Magic Editor experience optimized for large screen and mouse/keyboard input. You move, enlarge or reduce parts of a photo, and apply Sky, Golden Hour and other ‘contextual presets’.

Gemini + AI Premium

You also have the Gemini app – gemini.google.com – pinned to your dock, with the Progressive Web App opening its own window for a slightly more dedicated experience. Google is positioning this as Gemini being built into Chromebook Plus.

This goes hand in hand with how when you buy a Chromebook Plus you now get 12 months of Google One AI Premium for free. That includes access to Gemini Advanced and Gemini in Workspace (Gmail, Drive, Docs, etc.) powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro. This $240 offer is available today on new Chromebook Plus purchases, even if you previously completed the general two-month trial and/or already paid for AI Premium.

Through the end of the year, we’re also offering new Chromebook Plus owners the Google One AI Premium subscription for free for 12 months, including access to Gemini Advanced, Gemini for Workspace, 2TB of storage, and more.

New ChromeOS features

Outside of AI, the Calendar widget in the Shelf adds Google Tasks integration above the monthly view, while the screen recorder adds a GIF (versus video) option. Launcher Search now uses OCR (optical character recognition) for local images downloaded to the Files app. For example, you can search for “milk” to bring up a store receipt.

In terms of gaming, there is the Game Dashboard with an exclusive Game Capture feature for Chromebook Plus. In addition to taking a screenshot, you can record a video of the game and yourself playing with the front camera and voiceover. When you play an Android game, Game Controls lets you map touchscreen interactions to key commands.

Google also makes the initial setup easier if you have an Android phone. When you scan a QR code, the Wi-Fi and Google account information is shared with the Chromebook.