What does ChromeOS sound like? It’s a trick query — as a result of till just lately, the working system powering Chromebooks hasn’t truly gave the impression of something in any respect.
Not like Android or most different desktop working programs, there have been no system sounds in ChromeOS: No noise whenever you empty the trash, whenever you transfer a file to a folder or regulate the amount.
However that modified in September 2023, once we added audible results you will hear whenever you plug in a charging cable or when your battery drops too low. And so they might be simply the primary notes of an oncoming symphony.
“A charger is one thing that is used day in and time out, so the brand new sounds have the chance to turn out to be the premise of ChromeOS’s sound presence,” says Josh Ellis, a senior consumer expertise (UX) sound designer. Moreover, audio cues for cost ranges can assist in accessibility for blind and low-vision customers by making it simpler to determine relative battery life while not having to examine with a display reader first.
Bringing ChromeOS to sonic life was a significant effort, requiring collaboration between our (UX sound designers and our software program engineers. First, they wanted to craft the distinctive sounds for ChromeOS’s charging, after which truly implement them in a means that works throughout the big selection of Chromebooks.
However even earlier than that, they needed to resolve: What ought to the working system sound like?
“From the start, I felt it was vital to construct on the prevailing basis that we have already got at Google, particularly the charging sounds for Pixel telephones,” says Henry Daw, the senior UX sound designer who helped create the brand new charging sounds. “It’s this faded-in piano that performs a pleasant G main chord.”
