On Tuesday, Google unveiled the latest addition to its lineup: the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus, which stands out as the company’s thinnest and lightest Chromebook to date, weighing in at just over 2.5 pounds. This model boasts impressive specifications, including 8GB of RAM, an Intel Core i3 100U processor, 256GB of storage, and a 15.6-inch OLED display. However, what truly caught my attention is the introduction of a brand new key: Quick Insert.
Pressing the Quick Insert key brings up a new menu filled with various actions and functions. According to Google, this menu will include AI tools like “Help me write,” which assists users in rewriting drafts, as well as non-AI features such as emoji and GIF selection. It will also display a list of recently opened websites for easy copying and pasting of relevant links, facilitate Google Drive searches for attaching files, photos, and documents, and offer handy tools like a calculator, date stamp, and unit converter. For those familiar with Google Docs, this menu is reminiscent of the one accessed by typing “@”.
As reported by The Verge, this new key replaces the search and launcher button found on some previous Chromebooks. However, Quick Insert doesn’t have its own dedicated key; it shares space with the Caps Lock key. On compatible Chromebooks, the key will be labeled “caps,” accompanied by an icon of a diamond with a plus symbol, indicating “Quick Insert.” The fact that it isn’t a standalone key means that users of older Chromebooks can still access Quick Insert through a keyboard shortcut, eliminating the need to purchase a new device solely for this feature.
Starting next year, Google plans to roll out this key across more Chromebook and Chromebook Plus models, and it will also introduce an AI image generator to the Quick Insert menu.
Additional Features for Chromebooks
In addition to the Quick Insert key, Google announced several new AI features for Chromebook Plus devices. These include “Help me read,” which summarizes various types of text via a right-click; Live Translate, which provides AI-powered translated captions for shows and video calls; and Recorder, an audio-recording app that uses AI to identify different speakers and create transcriptions. New AI features for video calls will enhance both voice and appearance quality.
Furthermore, Google highlighted a range of new capabilities coming to all Chromebooks, such as the ability to chat with Gemini directly from the operating system, a three-month free trial of Google One AI Premium, a “Welcome Recap” of user activities on their Google devices since their last login, a new do-not-disturb mode called “Focus,” and the option to pin files to the home screen.