Highlights:

  • According to Google, the operating system updates automatically in the background to prevent users from experiencing downtime.
  • Google has noted that Flex devices can be managed using the Chrome Enterprise Upgrade, which lets departments manage apps and policies across a whole fleet of computers.

Chrome OS Flex, Google’s operating system for vintage PCs and MACs that can be installed on a thumb drive, was officially declared out of beta with support for more than 400 devices.

It was in February this year that the firm made the initial announcement of Chrome OS Flex’s preview, which supported more than 250 devices. Now, it is making a stable operating system available for customers to utilize on their outdated computers.

According to the multinational company, the operating system increases sustainability by infusing new life to outdated devices. It also protects users from ransomware and malware threats and automatically updates them in the background to prevent them from experiencing downtime. Because Chrome OS Flex follows the same release schedule as Chrome OS, all updates are delivered instantly.

In a blog post, the firm said, “By installing ChromeOS Flex on your existing hardware, you’re not only getting a great experience but also contributing to an important cause. Worldwide, 40 million tons of e-waste is generated every year – that’s like throwing away 800 laptops per second. Upgrading devices to ChromeOS Flex rather than replacing them altogether is an impactful way to reduce waste and prevent this growing problem. And if you really need the fans running to stay cool, you can feel better knowing that devices that run ChromeOS Flex consume 19% less energy on average than other devices.”

If people were willing to put in the effort of installing Chrome OS Flex on a thumb drive and figuring out the booting sequence by navigating to the BIOS (basic Input/Output Devices) menu when the system started, they could test it out in the developer channel. Questions abound if individual users can install the operating system on their old Macs and PCs and use it for nothing.

This lightweight operating system is based on CloudReady by Neverware; a business Google acquired in 2020. The company offers business clients an enterprise upgrade to use Chrome OS Flex across all their devices for work in the organization.