Google makes it easy to sync photos and Wi-Fi passwords with Chromebooks

Chrome OS 103 offers a variety of quality-of-life improvements.

Google takes a few pages from Apple's operating manual with Chrome OS 103.

The company says (opens in a new window) The operating system update will offer the ability to automatically sync photos and share Wi-Fi settings between your Chromebook and paired Android smartphone. The former looks a lot like iCloud Photos, which syncs photos between Apple devices, but Google already plans to make the feature more powerful than its competitor's offering.

"With the latest update, you'll now have instant access to the latest photos you've taken on your phone – even if you're offline," says Google. "After you take a photo on your phone, it will automatically appear inside the Phone Hub on your laptop under 'Recent Photos'. Simply click on the image to download it, then it's ready to be added to a document or email."

The company's answer to sharing Wi-Fi settings between devices seems less convincing. Google says users will have to follow a multi-step process on their Android phones to share information with a nearby Chromebook; Apple's offer prompts users to share a Wi-Fi password if their devices are unlocked and connected to the network in question.

But Google has another trick planned for Chrome OS. It's called Fast Pair, and the company says it will allow Chromebooks to "automatically detect when a new pair of Bluetooth speakers is on, soon, and ready to set up." The devices can then be paired with a single tap (or by tap) a pop-up that appears whenever these conditions are met.