Google is removing the Chrome browser from ChromeOS

[DragonSlayer101]

What just happened? Google is reportedly all set to separate the Chrome browser and ChromeOS on Chromebooks, and it's using Linux to do so. The move has been in the making since at least 2020, when 9to5Google spotted code changes that suggested Google is working on a new browser called 'Lacros' to replace Chrome as the default browser for Chromebooks.

Three years down the line, the project could be nearing completion, with a new report claiming that Lacros is ready for primetime. That's according to About Chromebooks, which claims recent changes in the ChromeOS codebase suggest the switch to Lacros could start with the rollout of ChromeOS 116.

Currently, devices running older versions of ChromeOS have to enable two experimental flags to 'Enabled' to use the Lacros browser, but documentation related to ChromeOS 116 reveals that things could change sooner rather than later. Once ChromeOS 116 is available widely, users may not have to manually set those two flags as the browser could be enabled automatically as the default.

The report claims that there are "there are several hundred mentions of Lacros" in ChromeOS 116 beta. However, unlike older versions of the OS, manually setting the new browser as the default is no longer an option, as one of the two flags is missing. While this may just be a cleanup of Lacros-related flags before the official rollout, it could also indicate that Google is getting ever-closer to deprecating the Chrome browser in favor of Lacros in the upcoming version of ChromeOS.

For folks wondering about Lacros, it is essentially a Linux version of the Chrome browser with improved Wayland support. According to Google's own documentation, Lacros stands for 'Linux And Chrome OS,' and is expected to offer users the same experience as running Chrome on a standard Chromebook.

Switching from Chrome to Lacros as the default browser on Chromebooks is an important move for Google, and one that could ensure a more efficient update process, making it easier to deploy browser patches. As things stand now, any changes to the browser require a full ChromeOS update, which is inefficient and could be a major problem when a critical browser vulnerability needs to be patched as soon as possible. Google is looking to change that with Lacros, which is expected to make the update process easier in future versions of ChromeOS.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99657-google-removing-chrome-browser-chromeos.html

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

But is Lacros pronounced like "macros" (lacrōs) or more like lacrosse (lacrós)?

 

[hazphan]

But is Lacros pronounced like "macros" (lacrōs) or more like lacrosse (lacrós)?

Gif or Jif, apricot or APE-ricot, measure or mayshure... add it to the list haha

 

[bviktor]

So it's rebranding and nothing else. K.

 

[Uncle Al]

A horses South end is still the same no matter what you name it ....

 

[texasrattler]

And the world will call it, Chrome as thats all they have ever known.

 

[BobHome]

So instead of the "One Update To Fix It All" periodically, there will be multiple updates, probably on different update schedules.
This might be easier for the developers to target specific needed fixes, but more work for the end-user (and probably some updates not getting done by some over time). Always a 'but'.

 

[Kam7r]

Cool, a new name for this spyware...

 

[Lounds]

Someone gets paid to come up with these rubbish names.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

So they're updating the chrome in chrome OS with better support for Wayland and are changing the name to confuse people?

10/10 move.

 

[Mark Fuller]

Just another cosmetic change to throw the hook in the water.

 

[dustojnikhummer]

So instead of the "One Update To Fix It All" periodically, there will be multiple updates, probably on different update schedules.
This might be easier for the developers to target specific needed fixes, but more work for the end-user (and probably some updates not getting done by some over time). Always a 'but'.

No, the other way around. Right now if Google wants to push a mainline fix to Chrome OS they have to build the entire OS. This will allow them to issue separate updates to just the browser. Microsoft tried a similar thing with the old Edge

 

[hwertz]

This seems a little confusing. Moving the browser from ChromeOS to being seperately updateable makes sense. Renaming a branch of ChromeOS with Wayland patches Lacros doesn't to me. But, OK.